With just seven games to go, Arne Slot could well join a small list of managers to win the Premier League in their first season.
Liverpool are 11 points ahead of Arsenal with seven games to go as they look to clinch their 20th league title, which would tie them with Manchester United with the most league titles in England.
It would be the club’s second Premier League title, after winning their first in 2019/20.
Many questions were asked when Arne Slot was appointed manager of the club after Jurgen Klopp left his post after nine years at the club.
However, the Dutch manager has proved his doubters wrong after an incredible debut season in England.
Slot would become the third Liverpool manager to win the league in their debut season, following Joe Fagan in the 1983/84 treble campaign, and Kenny Dalglish in 1986.
However, this was a time when Liverpool not only dominated English football but they were hugely successful in European football.
During the eighties, Liverpool won six league titles, two FA cups, two European cups and one league cup.
Before Slot, Liverpool won seven major honours, while facing one of the toughest teams English football has ever seen in Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.
Slot would become just the fifth premier league manager to win the title in their first season in England.
Jose Mourinho (2004/05), Carlo Ancelotti (2009/10), Manuel Pellegrini (2013/14) and Antonio Conte (2016/17) have all achieved this feat.
In Mourinho’s first season at Chelsea, he set a record for the least amount goals conceded in one league season, only conceding 15 times.
At the time they also achieved the most points in a season, most away wins, most clean sheets and most wins in a single season.
They would only lose one game in that campaign, a 1-0 away defeat to Man City in October, as they went on to end the season on 95 points, 12 ahead of second-place Arsenal.
Five years later at Stamford Bridge, Ancelotti was able to achieve the same feat as Mourinho did.
They pipped Manchester United to the title by a single point, winning the league with 86 points, as they ended the season in incredible style, scoring 17 goals in three games.
That season Chelsea set a record for the most goals in a season and the best goal difference in the league.
Pellegrini arrived in Manchester in 2013, and by the end of the season, he held the Premier League aloft as they finished ahead of Liverpool by two points.
After suffering defeat at Anfield and drawing at home to Sunderland in April, Pellegrini and his side went on a five-game winning streak to claim the title.
They became the second-highest-scoring league side of all time behind Ancelotti’s Chelsea and became the first team to have three players score more than 15 goals from Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.
Finally, Conte won Chelsea their fifth Premier League title and the club’s most recent in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
They ended the season on 93 points, seven ahead of Tottenham in second.
They equalled the record for consecutive wins and fewest draws, while they broke the record for the most wins in a season with 30.
In his first season at Anfield, Slot is set to be a part of this list, and their 25-game unbeaten league run has certainly played a vital role in any chance of lifting the league in May.
Liverpool suffered defeat in the fourth game of the season, losing 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.
Last Sunday, in their 3-2 loss to Fulham, their undefeated run came to an end, but in that time they did the double over current champions Man City and also had some big results against Spurs and West Ham.
Liverpool are currently averaging 2.35 points per game, which should see Slot’s team finish on 89 points when the season comes to a close, seeing only Mourinho and Conte finish on more points.
One of the most notable things of Slot’s first season is how Liverpool played away from home.
All the other managers on this list have played very well at home, but haven’t seen the same away from home.
However, Slot’s team have scored more goals away from home this season (40) compared to Anfield (32), and he has the same goal difference for home and away (+21).
"The manager has done fantastic."
Roy Keane shares his thoughts on Arne Slot's first season at Liverpool 🙌 pic.twitter.com/XlMgqx5flT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 23, 2025
Slot could also be on course to win the league before any of the other managers in this list, as the Reds could confirm the title away at Leicester, with five games to go. Mourinho was the earliest with three games to go.
Slot still has seven games to set league records like the other four managers, but by the end of May, I doubt Liverpool fans will be concerned as long as the title is held aloft by Arne Slot.
(featured image used under Alamy agreed license)
