Liverpool manager Arne Slot has moved closer to joining an exclusive club of Premier League managers following a pleasing weekend of action for the rampant Reds.
The Merseyside giants end the gameweek 15 points clear of Arsenal at the summit of the rankings thanks to the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta's men had to fight their way back from a goal down just to claim a point, and they had the last-ditch interventions of Declan Rice and David Raya to thank for their share of the spoils.
Liverpool also recovered from a one-goal deficit over the weekend, albeit with greater success as they saw off Southampton 3-1 on their own patch, temporarily moving 16 points clear at the summit.
While the Gunners do still have a game in hand, it will surely prove trivial, as Arteta's side have cut toothless figures up top in Premier League games since losing Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka to serious injuries.
Slot to become fifth manager to win PL in first season?
© Imago
As the Arsenal boss prepares for a fifth straight full season without a Premier League title next to his name, Slot is set to become just the fifth man to win the competition in his first season in English football.
Only Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte have also achieved that feat, with the former the first to do so as Chelsea boss during the 2004-05 campaign.
Ancelotti then repeated the Portuguese's trick at Stamford Bridge in the 2009-10 season, while Pellegrini did so with Manchester City in 2013-14 and Conte with Chelsea in the 2016-17 campaign.
None of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola conquered the Premier League in their first year in English football, although Wenger did do so in his first full season in 1997-98, having joined when the 1996-97 year was underway.
In addition, Slot will become the first manager from the Netherlands to win the Premier League title, unless Liverpool suffer the capitulation of all capitulations in the coming weeks.
When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?
© Iconsport
With 70 points on the board from 29 matches, Liverpool will end the season with a total of 97 if they win all their games between now and the end of the season, while Arsenal can only achieve a maximum of 85.
As a result, Liverpool only need five more wins and a draw to confirm their status as champions, and in the event that both they and Arsenal are perfect in the next few weeks - however unlikely that may be - they could seal the crown away to Chelsea on May 3.
Alternatively, if Liverpool keep on winning and both Arsenal and their other title rivals go on a run of defeats, the earliest that the Reds could win the league - or at least officially eliminate the Gunners from contention - would be in just three weeks' time at home to West Ham United.
Either way, Reds fans should have few concerns about losing their iron grip on the crown, although they cannot afford a repeat performance of their 1-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg win over Paris Saint-Germain if they are to ensure progression from Tuesday's second leg.
Ben Knapton
