As Liverpool lifted their twentieth, record-equaling league title last week to round off a dominant campaign, take a look at some of the moments you didn’t see coming from Arne Slot’s side.
Comeback kings
When Arne Slot first arrived at the AXA Training Centre, he outlined his desire to control a game of football for 90 minutes, proclaiming his admiration for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in the same light.
However, the Reds often found themselves struggling to get a handle on games in the top flight, especially in the first half.
2-1 vs Brighton (H)
In November, Liverpool trailed Brighton 1-0 at Anfield but having rode their luck at times, they remained in the contest.
It was Cody Gakpo, whose cross trickled its way into the net to level the score before Mohamed Salah applied his trademark left-footed finish on the edge of the box just three minutes later to send the Kop into delirium.
The final whistle blew at 2-1 and Slot accredited the result as a defining moment in the Reds’ unprecedented title charge.
2-0 vs Brentford (A)
But the comebacks didn’t end there, as the travelling Kop were on tenterhooks in West London as Thomas Frank’s Brentford were frustrating an out-of-form Liverpool.
Winless in their previous two games and wary of Arsenal potentially closing the gap to two points later in the evening, it was a must-win game for Slot’s side.
Stoppage time played host to the most unlikely of hero cameos, as substitute Darwin Nunez fired a quickfire brace to secure three vital points for the Reds.
Europe’s pacesetters
New format, new manager, same outcome.
The league phase of the Champions League showed why Liverpool belonged in Europe’s premier competition, after a year-long absence.
Conceding the first goal of the Arne Slot era, his side found a way to overcome AC Milan before recording routine wins over Bologna and RB Leipzig.
Quite the narrative was concocted when German champions Bayer Leverkusen visited, with former Red Xabi Alonso firmly at the helm after rebuffing their approach to succeed Jurgen Klopp.
But it was Luis Diaz who gave Alonso a penny for his thoughts, as the Colombian fired in his first hattrick for Liverpool in a comprehensive 4-0 victory.
Next up was a familiar foe in Real Madrid and goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, with a Caoimhin Kelleher penalty save from Kylian Mbappe sandwiched in between secured an historic result.
Liverpool had defeated Real Madrid for the first time in 16 years and sat atop of the table, their only blemish forming in a defeat to PSV in what was a near-perfect start to the competition.
However, the surprising twist was that PSG awaited them in the Round of 16, after surviving the league phase by the barest of margins.
Despite a dramatic late winner by Harvey Elliott in Paris, the Reds were thoroughly bested across two legs by Luis Enrique’s side after a penalty shootout defeat at Anfield.
It is without a doubt that Liverpool will want to go further in the following campaign and they can look back on this season’s experience constructively.
Double Dutch
Perhaps it should not come as much of a surprise that Slot has managed to get the best out of his compatriots, with captain Virgil van Dijk leading by example.
Nevertheless, the ever-maturing performances of Cody Gakpo and the revelation of Ryan Gravenberch have been crucial to Liverpool’s title success this season.
Ryan Gravenberch
Rewind to last summer when Arne Slot was on the verge of making his first signing, holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi before he unexpectedly decided to remain with his boyhood club Real Sociedad.
As a result of this, the Slot era began in a rather tentative fashion but it was Gravenberch who stepped up, seizing his opportunity to be a deep-lying playmaker and hasn’t looked back since.
His ability to receive the ball on the half turn and beat the press has been key in progressing play further up the pitch and he was simply untouchable for the majority of the season.
His performances have not gone unnoticed, as Gravenberch was recently awarded the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season.
Cody Gakpo
Gakpo has also found his place in Slot’s side, finally playing in his preferred position out on the left, where his habit of cutting in is giving defenders serious cause for concern.
He was in a rich vein of form for the Reds when he netted six times in seven games between the end of October and December.
There is no reason why the winger cannot push on next season, with Luis Diaz rumoured with a possible departure from the club, leaving a wide berth to make the position his own.