Arne Slot joins Virgil van Dijk in hitting back at Michael Owen

LONDON – Liverpool manager Arne Slot joined his captain in pushing back at Michael Owen’s suggestion that there will be “a little bit of a bitter taste” if the Reds end the season with just the English Premier League trophy.

Former Ballon d’Or winner Owen, a Liverpool youth product who scored 158 times for the club, had said: “Liverpool were poised to have a phenomenal season.

“If they win the Premier League it’ll still be fantastic, but with a little bit of a bitter taste because it was building into something special.”

The Reds topped the Champions League group stage but were knocked out in the last 16 on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain before

losing the League Cup final to Newcastle United,

both in March.

In February, they were bundled out of the FA Cup by second-tier strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

In an interview after the midweek win over Everton, Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk hit back at Owen, saying: “So you’re suggesting the season is not going to be special any more?

“I think we have to change that narrative... I think no one expected us to even try to fight on all four fronts. Obviously we’re at the stage now where we’re still fighting for the biggest, and that’s the reality. It’s still a possibility that this season will be very, very special.”

When asked about that exchange on April 4, ahead of the Premier League trip to Fulham on April 6, Slot said: “Let me understand it right, Virgil was a bit frustrated because it came across as it’s not enough to only win the Premier League?

“Michael did play for us, didn’t he? So he is aware of the fact that in 35 years we won the league once? There is your answer. If you can win the league with this club then, phew, nothing else matters, I would say.

“If you do it 10 times in a row, then I could understand that people say: ‘Oh but you only win the Premier League’. If (Manchester) City only won the Premier League, then I could understand people saying: ‘It’s not a good season for City’.

“But if, at this club, you can compete for it and let alone win it, then it is a strange question to ask, in my opinion.”

Fans were unable to properly celebrate the Reds’ last title win in 2019-20 due to Covid-19 conditions, with the latter part of the season played behind closed doors.

Additionally, a second league title in the last six seasons would be their 20th top-flight crown, putting them level with archrivals Manchester United at the top of the standings.

The Reds are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal after the Gunners drew 1-1 with Everton on April 5. Liverpool have just eight matches left and the main question now is when they will win the title.

Mid-table Fulham, too, have had a good campaign.

Their Portuguese boss Marco Silva praised the Reds’ relentless march to the title and their manager’s role in it, saying: “They have been really consistent in the Premier League.

“You don’t see them have too many down moments, and when they do, they are always able to react.

“It’s not a coincidence that they have spent most of the time on top of the table.

“We can all agree, that if nothing very special happens, then they are going to have a celebration at the end of the season.”

On Slot, he added: “It wasn’t just any manager that left them – it was a manager who was there 10 years with a massive, massive impact on almost everything that was built in the football club.

“Jurgen (Klopp) was a very, very important piece and, when the club went in a different direction, the impact of the manager is always going to be important.

“Slot has made that impact.”