‘Not for the first time’ – Arne Slot warns Liverpool before Real Madrid and Manchester City

Arne Slot has issued a warning to Liverpool players ahead of Sunday’s match against Southampton as the Reds enter the weekend with a five-point lead.

Arne Slot has warned Liverpool players not to look ahead to next week’s big games against Real Madrid and Manchester City before entertaining Southampton on Sunday. And the Reds head coach thinks the team should just look at the challenges Arsenal and City faced when they played the Saints as they won’t be comfortable at St Mary’s.

Liverpool return Premier League Pep Guardiola’s side are five points behind this weekend as they aim to halt a run of four consecutive defeats in all competitions when they entertain Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.

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The Reds will know what they need to do to maintain or extend their advantage at the top on Sunday afternoon and with Russell Martin’s team currently sitting 20th in the standings, few are expecting a surprise bottom-out at the top.

nestBut he cited how tough the Saints had fought for City in their narrow 1-0 win in October, and Arsenal’s 3-1 win in the game they fell behind a few weeks ago, as reasons why Liverpool should not look back on such glory. Matches with European champions Madrid and Guardiola’s Premier League holders.

“I’m sure it will happen if players don’t lose focus,” Slot said. “For me it’s not just about age. We have a few older players but we also have quite a few players in the middle age group but they are all experienced.

“They all play for their national teams. They saw last season that they were competitive all season long and previous seasons, so it’s not the first time they’ve been in a week where they’ve faced two teams that have dominated the football in the last game. It’s been four or five years in the league and Champions League.

“As they follow football, they also saw how difficult it was for Southampton to make it difficult for Arsenal and Manchester City to win. “It’s not just about age, it’s also about experience and they all have experience.

“Southampton were unlucky but their style is excellent, they could get a result in every game. Everyone is looking at Real Madrid and Man City but that will be difficult on Sunday too.”