Liverpool manager Arne Slot heaped praises on his players following their performance in the Merseyside derby win on Saturday afternoon.
The Premier League champions have started their title defense in the best possible way, winning their first five league games of the 2025/26 season.
The Reds had previously defeated Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal and Burnley, before adding Everton to their victim list with a 2-1 win on Saturday.
Slot dropped Florian Wirtz to the bench, while Hugo Ekitike returned to the lineup after dropping out in the midweek win over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring early in the match with a brilliant finish and he soon turned provider moments later.
He played a precise pass to Ekitike, with the striker applying the finishing touches to make it 2-0 for the Reds.
Everton improved after halftime and reduced the deficit, scoring through midfielder Idrissa Gueye.
The match finished at 2-1, with Liverpool maintaining their 100% start to the season, while David Moyes’ winless run at Anfield extended to 21 matches.
Speaking after the match to the press, Slot was impressed and lauded his players for their performance.
“There was tension late on. We needed mentality again today. We always knew how difficult a game this would be, let alone if you have proper preparation time, but we have played a third game in less than seven days”, the Dutchman revealed.
“We knew the second half could be very tough. This was the most intense of the three games, we knew this before. You can see how well we play if we’re fresh, you see that in the first 45 minutes, it was unbelievable, a joy to watch. We ran a bit out of energy but not out of mentality.
“This is the reason why we need a big squad. Again, they all showed up, really good.”
Can Liverpool win consecutive league titles?
Liverpool could not have asked for a better start to their title defense, following their run of five consecutive victories in the league.
They are yet to win a game convincingly, with a couple of late winners and tense finishes to their games this season.
The arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have strengthened the squad in the summer, adding to the firepower of Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
However, with tougher oppositions still to come, it remains to be seen if they can continue and win a second straight league title by May, 2026.
