Slot labels Liverpool 'mentality' key after moving two wins away from title

Arne Slot pinpointed the mentality of Liverpool's players as key to their success as they moved two wins away from the Premier League title.

Liverpool ran out 2-1 victors after a chaotic encounter against West Ham at Anfield, where Andy Robertson's late own goal cancelled out Luis Diaz's 18th-minute opener.

Virgil van Dijk scuffed onto Robertson before the left-back turned past Alisson, only for the Liverpool captain to then head home an 89th-minute winner from Alexis Mac Allister's corner.

That win moved Liverpool 13 points clear of Arsenal, requiring six points from their final six games to clinch the title, and Slot believes his squad's battling mentality has been the main driver of their success.

"That is what we've done the whole season. After the disappointment of being knocked out by PSG, we show up again, show up every three days, with this mentality," Slot told Sky Sports.

"We don't win games the easy way. The easy way is taking control of the ball, pass it around five times, and we have a goal and the next goal and the next goal.

"If we achieve something this year, it's mainly to do with the mentality the players have shown. That's what you saw today as well."

Sunday marked a memorable day for Mohamed Salah, who celebrated Friday's two-year contract extension by teeing up Diaz's simple finish.

That marked Salah's 45th goal involvement of the Premier League season (27 goals, 18 assists), the record for a 38-game campaign in the competition's history.

45 - Mohamed Salah has now been directly involved in 45 Premier League goals this term (27 goals, 18 assists); a new record for a player in a 38-game season. King. pic.twitter.com/GzTS08wVir
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 13, 2025

However, Slot's hosts struggled at the other end, with Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus going close before Robertson inadvertently turned home Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross.

The Liverpool boss acknowledged the threat posed by Graham Potter's visitors, who have lost their last eight Premier League games at Anfield by an aggregate score of 20-6.

"Very difficult second half, we needed Alisson because [Lucas] Paqueta and Kudus were incredible the whole game," the Dutchman added.

"And then we conceded the 1-1, with an own goal. How much more disappointment can you get after what happened last week?

"Getting the goal with Virgil shows you how much mentality these boys have. It’s not only us. I saw the result when I came in, Chelsea vs Ipswich, 2-2.

"No-one wins a game of football that easily and because this league is so strong now, you have to put so much effort to bring your wins over the line."

Liverpool 2-1 West Ham pic.twitter.com/SZsbQ9Wfx4
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 13, 2025

There was still time for Niclas Fullkrug's stoppage-time header to hit the crossbar with what would have been the leveller for a 2-2 draw, though Liverpool held on for a vital three points.

Their 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League is their biggest after 32 or more games of a league campaign since the final day of 2019-20 (18), in their last title win.

Liverpool next visit Leicester City, and a victory there would offer them the chance to seal the top-flight crown at home to Tottenham on April 27.

"The whole season has been hard for us, every win has been really difficult except two more wins," Slot concluded.

"The last three games have shown us how difficult it is to win a game of football, let alone one at the end of the season. We go again next week against Leicester."