Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool

The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge in all competitions as the holders have also progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals.

Slot appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp.

But he has built on the solid foundations left by the German after Liverpool finished third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Arsenal last season.

"Surprise isn't the right word I'd use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing," said Slot at his pre-match press conference ahead of hosting Aston Villa on Saturday.

"From the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis and that is I think the reason you can be consistent."

Liverpool were inspired by the power of the Anfield crowd to come from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 last weekend to move two points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League.

A similar atmosphere helped blow Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen away 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Slot is keen to keep his players' feet on the ground but is happy for the fans to get excited about the possibility of just a second league title in 35 years.

"If the end result of them being excited is to bring the atmosphere of the second half against Brighton and the whole game against Leverkusen, I am hoping they will keep being excited because that atmosphere helped us a lot," added the former Feyenoord boss.

Diogo Jota remains sidelined but should return after November's international break.