Liverpool manager Arne Slot pays tribute to Jurgen Klopp and hails 'special' achievement for becoming the first Dutchman to win Premier League title

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Arne Slot led Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th top-flight title after ruthlessly dispatching Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. The Reds cannot be mathematically caught at the Premier League summit, and hold a 15-point lead over second-place Arsenal with four games left of the season. It has been a superb debut season for Slot, who becomes the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League.

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Arne Slot paid tribute to his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, after Liverpool’s status as Premier League champions was confirmed with a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

The Reds blew away Spurs with a five-star display thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and a Destiny Udogie own goal, following Dominic Solanke's surprise opener.

Slot believes Klopp laid the foundations for what was achieved this season and expressed his pride after becoming the first Dutch manager to win a Premier League title.

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He told Sky Sports: "It's not only my job, but the players and the staff and the work that Jurgen and Pep Lijnders left behind here.

"The culture, work rate and quality of the team were outstanding; we all knew that. We started off really well, and it maybe helped that Man City had a difficult spell which they haven't had in five years.

"When the season started, everybody would've been happy if we got in the top four and Champions League football next season, but I don't think that was fair to our players, because they are much better than that, and they showed that this season."

When asked about being the first Dutchman to win the Premier League, he continued: "Of course that's special.

"It's always special to win something, it's even more special if you're the first one, and even more special if you're at a club that's not used to winning it every year."

Liverpool have long held the status as champions elect for much of the campaign, but Slot admits that complacency never came into play.

He also expressed his joy at winning the title in front of a packed stadium on this occasion, with the fans absent five years ago due to the Covid pandemic.

"You see what's happening here, even before the game. Five years ago, they won the league, an amazing accomplishment, but the fans weren't here, so you could feel how important it was for them to be here.

"The boys did an outstanding job today, including the fans. It wasn't ideal [going 1-0 behind], but we trusted these players, and they always find a way to win. It's not the first time they've been a goal behind, and I don't think we could've lost today if we were in the stadium.

"Our main focus was on winning this game. Everyone said, 'You already won it', but when you're part of it, you still feel the pressure of getting a point to get over the line. That makes it special."

Slot was asked about when he first believed that Liverpool could win the league, and replied: "For a long time, because we were on top of the league for most of the season, and we had a team that could win it.

"But you also know how tough the Premier League is. So, you cannot take anything for granted, but the belief for us to win it was there throughout the season."

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