On the eve of facing Brentford in a match where Diogo Jota might be unavailable, Liverpool’s manager acknowledged that the Premier League is much more demanding than its Dutch equivalent, the Eredivisie.

It may go unnoticed due to Liverpool's almost perfect start to the season, but Arne Slot is a newcomer to the Premier League and has only been discovering English football since August. A modest player during his career, the Dutchman never left the Netherlands, where he began his coaching career at AZ Alkmaar (2019-2020) before managing Feyenoord Rotterdam (2021-2024).

It was his time at the club, European champions in 1970, that allowed him to make a name for himself and eventually succeed Jürgen Klopp, who departed Liverpool last May to become Red Bull's global football director. With clear ideas and the ability to convey them to his players, Slot led Feyenoord to the Europa Conference League final in 2022, the national league title in 2023, and the Dutch Cup in 2024.

This experience allowed him to grasp the level of effort required to win trophies and assess the strengths of Dutch football. Upon joining Liverpool, he knew the gap between the Eredivisie and the Premier League would be significant, something he immediately realized during his first match. Ahead of the visit to Brentford, Arne Slot clearly recalled the Bees, who were his first opponents at Anfield (although his actual debut was against Ipswich, as clarified by the press). "I think Brentford was my first Premier League match (although the first was against Ipswich, as noted by the media), and I thought that if this was the kind of opposition we’d face every week, this league would be much tougher than the Eredivisie," he remarked in a press conference. His intuition proved correct, as threats abound in the Premier League, with challenging matches week in and week out.

Jota remains doubtful

So far, the newcomer has been performing exceptionally well: his team tops the table with a 4-point lead over Arsenal and a game in hand. Additionally, Liverpool has only lost once in 20 games and is currently on a 16-match unbeaten streak in the league. However, Slot knows that any slip-up could be costly, as demonstrated by the two draws in Liverpool's last two outings. "They [Brentford] have had a very good season so far. They drew 2-2 with City. It was a great match," the Dutchman said, hinting that Diogo Jota might not be available.

The Portuguese striker, who was crucial in scoring the equalizer against Nottingham Forest earlier this week (1-1), has been unable to train and is highly doubtful for the game. "He felt a slight pinch during the 30 minutes he played in the last match. He managed to finish it, but later complained about it," explained the manager, who knows he must be cautious with the player, especially since Jota was sidelined from late October to mid-December due to a muscular injury.