'The first of three finals' - how good can Liverpool's season be

Published By The Statesman For The Statesman Digital
12 hours ago

"The first of three finals" is how Arne Slot described Liverpool's 3-1 comeback win over Southampton to go 16 points clear in the Premier League.

The Reds now face a Champions League tie with Paris St-Germain and the Carabao Cup final with Newcastle before they are in league action again.

Liverpool's dream of achieving the Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup was ended last month by Plymouth - but they remain firmly in the hunt for three trophies.

"It's a sign of a good team that you can win in different ways," Slot told BBC Match of the Day after the latest victory.

"It was a poor performance first half - not only because of the way we played but also because of the energy we brought."

He added in his post-match news conference: "This was the most important game of the week. The first of three finals. I hope in the next finals we play a bit better than the first one."

Mohamed Salah netted two penalties at Anfield, with Darwin Nunez scoring the other goal as the hosts came back from 1-0 down.

A mix-up between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson had allowed Will Smallbone to give the Premier League's bottom side a half-time lead.

Slot's side have had to fight for two wins in a week as he bids for a trophy-laden first season since replacing club icon Jurgen Klopp.

"I don't think we played good today," said Salah, who has 32 goals in all competitions.

Salah has been involved in 44 Premier League goals this season (27 goals, 17 assists), the joint-most by a player in a 38-game season.

"If you want to win the Champions League or Premier League you have to win these games like that," Salah added.

On Tuesday the Reds host Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last 16 second leg, leading 1-0 from their smash and grab at the Parc des Princes.

"The only good thing in the first 45 minutes was that they saved their energy [for PSG] and didn't run at all," quipped Slot.

"It was maybe the first time this season I saw this tempo.

"We have to go one step up in terms of intensity against PSG. Compared to the game today we have to go three, four, five, six, seven times up in terms of intensity if we want to have any chance of reaching the next round."

Next Sunday, Liverpool will meet Newcastle at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final - with a chance to win a first trophy under their Dutch manager.

"The last two games have been very tough - it is not about me, it's about the whole team," Harvey Elliott, a half-time substitute on Saturday and goalscorer in Paris, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We need to keep winning games - it's as simple as that.

"It's about taking it game by game and making sure we apply ourselves in the best possible way."

Only five English teams - well, three clubs - have won three regular trophies in a season before.

That is not counting those you have to qualify for such as the Community Shield, Uefa Super Cup or Club World Cup.

Two have completed the recognised Treble of European Cup, league title and FA Cup - Manchester United in 1998-99 and Manchester City in 2022-23.

Liverpool have managed to win three in a season twice before.

In 1983-84, they won the three they could manage this season - the old First Division title, League Cup and European Cup.

A good omen? They lost to a second-tier club in the FA Cup fourth round that season too - Brighton.

The Reds also won a hat-trick of cups in 2000-01 - the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup.

One team have won the domestic treble - Manchester City in 2018-19 when they won the league, FA Cup and League Cup.

Plenty of teams have managed to win two trophies in one season.

Because most countries do not have a league cup, Celtic are the only team to win a quadruple of the European Cup plus three domestic trophies in 1966-67.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Ajax, PSV and Inter Milan are the European teams to have won the Treble before.

How likely are Liverpool to win three trophies?

Media caption,

Slot criticises 'poor' Liverpool performance despite win

The Premier League is practically a foregone conclusion now with Liverpool so far clear of the chasing pack.

Statisticians Opta give Liverpool a 98.9% chance of winning the title. Arsenal, 16 points behind, have two games in hand - including Sunday's match with Manchester United.

The Reds need 18 points out of a possible 27 to guarantee the title, with Arsenal only able to obtain a maximum of 87 points.

The earliest possible date the Reds could wrap up the title would be on 5 April, though Arsenal would need to lose all four of their games before then while Liverpool win all three of theirs.

But if the Gunners win their games in hand - and match their other results, Liverpool would seal the title against Chelsea on 4 May.

Slot said: "It's 16 for now but that can be down to seven by the time we play Everton in a few weeks."

Arsenal have three league games before the Reds' next top-flight match with Everton on 2 April.

In the Champions League, Liverpool are the favourites too following their first-leg win at PSG.

They are given a 26% probability of winning the competition by Opta.

And Liverpool are overwhelming favourites to win next Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Newcastle - at about 1-4 with bookmakers.