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Liverpool are looking good to maintain a Premier League title challenge this season.
The Reds may have seen their lead cut at the top of the table recently, but they are still sitting in first with a cushion heading into Christmas.
Given the exit of Jurgen Klopp over the summer, there have been plenty of people surprised by Liverpool’s early success without the German in charge.
However, Arne Slot has handled the transition away from one of the best manager’s in Liverpool history superbly.
It has helped that Slot has so much quality within the Liverpool squad to pick from.
He certainly had a helping hand from Jurgen in that respect.
But according to former Reds midfielder Naby Keita, Slot’s Liverpool are still a far cry from Klopp’s team of 2019/20.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Liverpool have started the season well, but it’s worth showing why any talk of comparisons between this year and the title-winning year are misguided.
After 15 games this time, Liverpool have 36 points.
A fine tally no doubt, and one good enough to sit two points clear with a game in hand.
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But after the same amount of matches in 2019/20, Liverpool had 43 points and would not drop another for 12 more games.
Incredible.
As a result, when Keita was asked by Bleacher Report whether he thinks Slot’s Liverpool are as good as that 99-point gathering team, he couldn’t help but smile.
READ MORE: Liverpool set to ask for Jurgen Klopp advice on ‘incredible’ player as soon as he joins Red Bull
“Oh my friend, I know they are a good team, they have a lot of young players there.
But for me we are the best of all time!” said the 29-year-old, before delivering a patient verdict on Slot.
“I think he’s a good manager because he started well, but we will wait until the end of the season and we will see.”
Although he really should have been, Keita was not that big a part of the title-winning team he remembers so fondly.
With the Guinean struggling with injury issues, he played only 18 times in the league that year.
Many of those appearances came following the Covid enforced shutdown of the season, which allowed Keita more time to get back fit.
ApperancesGoalsAssistsWerder Bremen 2023-2024500Ferencvaros 2024-000Naby Keita since leaving Liverpool
For most of the season Klopp went with a midfield of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, with James Milner supplementing for large parts.
And ever since that season, things have not really gone to plan for Keita.
After leaving Anfield in 2023, he had a failed stint at Werder Bremen which quickly turned sour.
Now out of Germany, Keita has signed for Ferencvaros in Hungary as he looks to get playing again.
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