FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Liverpool - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - February 23, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot before the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee SmithFile Photo
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - If the joyous fans at Anfield on Wednesday celebrated as if they were witnessing a Premier League title in the making, neither Liverpool boss Arne Slot nor his players were getting carried away in what has been an outstanding season, but is far from over.
The league leaders climbed 13 points clear at the top of the league table with their 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in driving rain that could not dampen the celebratory mood of fans.
When asked when he might see a glimmer of light, however, Slot said: "Indeed, it's still a long way to go, 10 games, and we have the (League Cup) final of course and two very important games against Paris St Germain, so we're not focused on the long term.
"And now I think the players have two days off, so Saturday, we go back and focus on Paris St Germain more than we focus on the league table in the Premier League."
Liverpool, who topped the Champions League table after the eight-game league phase, head to Paris to play PSG in the first leg of their last-16 tie next Wednesday.
Slot's men have been a picture of consistency, undefeated in 27 of their 28 league matches this season. Wednesday's victory was their 32nd in 43 games across all competitions, the most victories by a team in one of Europe's top five leagues.
Their win over Newcastle came courtesy of goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai agreed with Slot that there was no room for breathing easy yet.
"After mathematically they (Arsenal) do not have any chance to get us," the midfielder said. "We're really happy that we are 13 points clear but we just focus on ourselves. We have Champions League coming up so we have to focus on that too. We are looking forward to staying at the top of the table."
Asked about the chance to hoist several trophies this season, the Hungarian was hesitant to say much.
"When I came to Liverpool I wanted to win everything in my first season. So I don't like to talk about it," Szoboszlai said. "First we have a Champions League game to prepare and then a Premier League game and then we have a cup final against a really tough team (League Cup final on March 16 v Newcastle).
"We have to be ready and focus first on Champions League and then the final after that."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Davis)
