Sir Alex Ferguson, during his successful reign with Manchester United, once said: "Attack only wins you victories, defense wins you titles." This statement emphasizes that if you want to win championships in long-distance races, besides having a quality attack, you also need a solid defense.
Arne Slot is currently doing well in both aspects, turning Liverpool into a comprehensive team with "good attack and solid defense" in his first season taking over the team.
According to statistics, The Kop has won 18 matches after 20 matches this season. By the end of round 13 of the Premier League, Liverpool is 9 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, creating an 11-point gap with champions Manchester City after defeating their opponents 2-0 at Anfield. In the Champions League, the "Red Brigade" is also the only representative to win all 5 matches and is leading the table. Not only that, Arne Slot and his students also defeated Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen with a total score of 8-0. That is a truly impressive achievement for a coach who just debuted last summer.
Along with a quality attack, Liverpool's defence has also been solid, conceding just eight goals in 13 games, five fewer than any other team in the Premier League this season. Notably, the eight goals conceded out of 125 shots that Arne Slot's side have faced have an expected goals (xG) of 11.6 (best in the league). In other words, the Kop's defence has been excellent in neutralising most of their opponents' dangerous chances and has conceded goals at the lowest conversion rate in the Premier League.
In all competitions, no team in Europe's top five leagues has conceded fewer goals than Liverpool. Arne Slot has truly transformed Liverpool into a complete team, with Anfield being their "inviolable sanctuary". According to statistics, The Kop have only conceded 4 goals in 11 home games this season and have not conceded more than 1 goal per game.
The Reds of Merseyside have also kept clean sheets in their last four home games against Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Man City. The win over The Citizens was a testament to Arne Slot's managerial skills. According to Opta Analyst, Pep Guardiola's side took 39 minutes to get their first shot against Liverpool. This is the longest time it has taken Man City to get their first shot in a Premier League match since April 2010.
Those stats are even more impressive, as Liverpool have been without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker due to injury since early October. However, reserve goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has also been in impressive form, conceding just six goals in 11 games, with an expected goals on target (xGOT) of 12.2. That means Kelleher has helped the Reds avoid conceding 6.2 goals in 11 games.
It is still too early to predict the champions this season, but impressive performances show that Liverpool are worthy candidates for the Premier League title. If they continue to maintain their current stable form, Arne Slot can completely dream of the first titles of his reign at Anfield.
