Arne Slot enjoyed being serenaded by The Kop as his Liverpool team overpowered the manager originally tipped to replace Jurgen Klopp.
Anfield sang along to ‘Arne Slot..na na na na na’ as Liverpool romped to a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen led by former Liverpool favourite Xabi Alonso.
The victory, earned by a first Reds hat-trick by stand-in centre-forward Luis Diaz and a header from Cody Gakpo, sent Liverpool top of the 36-team Champions League group with a 100 per cent record.
It was Slot’s 14th win in his first 16 matches as Liverpool manager and the Dutchman was clearly touched by the chanting from the stands.
‘It is always better for a manager this happens than they start to boo,’ he smiled. ‘It was special to be here from the start and it is always special if they sing your name.
Arne Slot has enjoyed a stunning start to life as Liverpool boss, with his side sat top of the Premier League and Champions League standings
Luis Diaz scored his first-ever hat-trick for the Reds to fire the side past Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp first sang the chant during his goodbye message to Reds supporters
‘Some players are used to it, I’m not. Signing for a manager is not that common, at least in Holland. And I have to thank Jurgen, he is the one who came up with the song.
‘I also liked it a lot they sang for Xabi as well because he is so special for this club with his achievements. For these reasons, he deserved the fans to sing for him as well.’
Liverpool re-emerged from a goalless half-time to romp to a convincing victory.
‘We took more risk,’ explained Slot. ‘We adjusted to play one v one all over. Bayer changed their normal plan. They played without a nine. I have never seen Victor Boniface playing on the left.
‘We chose to play Lucho (Diaz) as a target man to maybe surprise them with runs in
‘The Liverpool fans love him and the manager likes him a lot as well!’
Slot’s puts his flying start down to trying to match the standards of past Liverpool bosses.
‘If work at Liverpool, there is always pressure. You know the standards set by so many great players and managers. It is pressure but we embrace it because it is what we want.
‘We want to compete for everything and you can enjoy some incredible evenings like tonight.’
Alonso won the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool during his five-year stay between 2004 and 2009. He got a big ovation from the home fans.
Former Liverpool midfielder and Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso said he was ‘bitter’ about the game
‘There are two different things, the game and the reception,’ he admitted.
‘I am bitter about the game but really appreciate the reception. I have a bond with this club. It was nice but would have been nicer to have a result.
‘Our second half was not good enough. We didn’t recover from the first goal and 2-0, it made things much harder.
‘Liverpool are in a good moment and the team has good balance. The coach is doing great work so far.’
