Arne Slot made sure to pay tribute to Jurgen Klopp for the foundation he left at Liverpool after clinching the Premier League title in his first season in charge.
Liverpool needed only a point against Tottenham to secure a record-tying 20th English league title and, though they fell behind early to a Dominic Solanke header, they ultimately achieved their goal in style.
Luis Diaz equalised before Alexis MacAllister and Cody Gakpo gave Liverpool command before half-time, with Mohamed Salah’s 28th goal of the season and an own goal from Destiny Udogie rounding off an emphatic 5-1 victory.
Liverpool hold an unassailable 15-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with four games to play and have lost just twice in the league all season.
But when asked by Sky Sports how he had made things look so easy in his first season in English football, Slot immediately praised predecessor Klopp, who brought down the curtain on his storied tenure at the club at the end of last season. Klopp won the Premier League with Liverpool in 2019-20, though he and the players were unable to celebrate with fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“That’s not only my job, it’s the job of the players and the staff members standing over there and the work Jurgen and Pepijn [Lijnders] left behind over here,” Slot said.
“The culture of the team, the work rate, the quality was outstanding. We all knew that. We started off really well and it maybe helped a bit that [Manchester] City had a difficult spell, which they hadn’t had in five years.
“When the season started everyone would have been happy if we were in the top four for Champions League again but I don’t think that was fair to our players because they are much better than that and that’s what they have showed this season.”
Touch of class.
Arne Slot repays Jurgen Klopp’s welcome chant, starting a rendition of his own!#beINPL #LFC pic.twitter.com/UMiREUqud9
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) April 27, 2025
Slot paid a more public tribute to Klopp as he addressed the crowd.
Klopp, who also led Liverpool to two runners-up finishes in which they tallied over 90 points in coming second to City along with a haul of seven other trophies that included the Champions League, sang Slot’s name at Anfield as he said farewell last May.
And Slot returned the favour as he celebrated the Reds’ historic triumph, with the Anfield crowd showing no hesitation in joining in the show of affection for Klopp.
Liverpool have four more games to play and will lift the trophy on May 25 in the season finale against Crystal Palace.
“It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing,” captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we [are] truly deserved champions of England.
“[Liverpool is] the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
