How do Arne Slot’s first 11 games at Liverpool stack-up against the other fast-starters in Premier League history – after Reds move five points clear at the top of the table

The absence of Liverpool in Gary Neville‘s pre-season top four prediction was, in some part, motivated by the lingering resentment and schadenfreude only lifelong rival can provide. 

Yes, the Manchester United legend’s take was spicy, but it nevertheless shared a sentiment almost all pundits and fans accepted as fact as the Reds prepared to embark on a campaign without Jurgen Klopp for the first time in eight years. 

But in the space of three months Neville has had to publicly eat his words, Opta’s supercomputer has installed the Anfield club as favourites for the Premier League and Liverpool supporters are genuinely starting to believe this could be their year. 

The remarkable turnaround in excitement and expectation has been achieved after Arne Slot‘s exceptional start as Liverpool boss. This season the club have claimed 15 wins in 17 games in all competitions and they currently sit top of the Champions League and five clear at the league summit.

Reds fans might not want to hear it but the fortunes of managers who have enjoyed similarly blistering starts has varied – even a start as good as the Dutchman’s is no guarantee of success. With that being said, let’s take a look at the managers with the best records after their first 11 games in the Premier League. 

The Dutchman has brought a slightly different style with him to Anfield and it is paying dividends with the side sitting top of the Premier League and Champions League

Jose Mourinho 

The first of four Chelsea managers on this list, Jose Mourinho took English football by storm when he arrived as European champion in 2005. The smooth-talking Portuguese joined a club flush with cash and ready to be molded in his image. 

Mourinho set about constructing one of the best sides in Premier League history and broke a series of records that would only be topped by the frankly ludicrous Manchester City and Liverpool teams of the late 2010s. 

As for his start, well, Mourinho led the Blues to eight wins, two draws and one defeat in his first 11 matches. That loss came away at Manchester City and ended up being their only loss all season. 

Chelsea conceded just three goals in their opening 11 games and their record stood at 15 by the end of the campaign. Not even Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s sides could get close to that one. 

The Blues ended the season with a League Cup win and their first top-flight title in 50 years. 

Jose Mourinho took the Premier League by storm when he arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004

The Portuguese manager led the Blues to their first top-flight title in 50 years in a dominant debut campaign

Luiz Felipe Scolari 

Big Phil Scolari touched down in west London in the summer of 2008 after Roman Abramovich decided he’d seen enough of Avram Grant, who had guided the Blues to second place in the Premier League and the Champions League final. 

Mourinho had been sacked earlier in the campaign after only six matches. Chelsea spent big in the 2008 window, bringing in France stars Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka for big fees. 

The likes of Alex, Branislav Ivanovic and Claudio Pizarro were further high-profile additions and the Blues reaped the rewards with eight wins, two draws and a loss in their first 11. 

They sat top on 26 points at that point but would end the season third after a mid-season wobble saw their World Cup-winning manager sacked and the heroics of an interim boss who we will come onto later. 

World Cup winner Phil Scolari lasted seven months at Stamford Bridge despite his great start

Ange Postecoglou 

The Australian’s remarkable start in north London had Robbie Williams changing the words to his iconic song ‘Angels’, need I say more? 

Spurs had been linked with Ruben Amorim and Arne Slot in the summer of 2023 before deciding on the Celtic manager and their choice was met with a collective sigh from everyone who had not seen his Hoops completely dominate Scottish football for two years.

Postecoglou brought his dour demeanor and gruff persona south of the border and blitz opponents with a dazzling gung-ho approach which yielded a remarkable eight wins, two draws and one defeat. 

Tottenham, yes Tottenham, were top of the league at the end of the October. Unfortunately that was as good as it was going to get. A catalogue of injuries, dismissals and strange decisions put pay to their dreams of a title – and that was just in the next game against Chelsea. 

The north Londoners ended the campaign fifth, only two points outside the coveted Champions League spots.  

Ange Postecoglou steered Tottenham to the Premier League summit after 11 matches last term

Maurizio Sarri 

Like the Chelsea managers on this list before him, Maurizio Sarri arrived in west London to much fanfare, having crafted a Napoli team that thrilled spectators in Serie A. 

Coaching in England was a bit of a culture shock for the Italian, who returned to his beloved homeland after only one season to manage Juventus. But homesickness had clearly not set in in the season’s early weeks as he got off to a superb start. 

Eight wins and three draws gave the Blues 27 points from their opening 11 games. And their record of 27 goals scored and just eight conceded looked to have given them the foundation to go and challenge for the title. 

But there’s was just one problem, well two, City and Liverpool were in the midst of an insane title tussle. Even after their great start, Chelsea still found themselves third, a position they would own for the remainder of the term 

Sarri did manage to lead the side to the Europa League in May thanks in large part to a brilliant performance from Eden Hazard in his final appearance for the club.  

Maurizio Sarri arrived at Chelsea to much fanfare after crafting a spellbinding Napoli side

The Italian claimed his maiden trophy as a manager when he guided the Blues to their Europa League win in 2019

John Gregory 

Aston Villa manager Brian Little resigned in February 1998 with the side in 15th place, having led them to 4th and 5th in the previous two seasons. 

The Midlands outfit turned to one of their former players for salvation and their gamble paid off as John Gregory led them on a stunning run, which ended with a seventh-place finish and a European qualification for another season. 

Gregory’s side claimed nine wins and suffered two defeats in the final 11 games of the campaign and finished just two points behind Leeds United in fifth. In that period his team scored 21 goals and conceded just 10, beating the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and the champions Arsenal. 

A couple of sixth-placed finishes followed before they fell to eighth in Gregory’s last full season at the club. He was later sacked under a cloud in 2003 but would subsequently win his case for unfair dismissal.  

John Gregory claimed nine wins and suffered two defeats in the final 11 games of the campaign, leading Aston Villa to seventh

Frank Clark  

When legendary manager Brian Clough left the City Ground in 1993 following their relegation from the top-flight, Nottingham Forest fans could not have imagined they’d be dreaming of European glory again so soon. 

Not only did Frank Clark lead them back to the Premier League but he even threatened to match the extraordinary feat of his messianic predecessor and former boss. The ex-Forest full-back returned the Reds to the top-flight at the first time of asking in 1994 and proceeded to claim eight wins and three draws from their first 11 matches. 

Their form fell off a cliff after that, with the side failing to win any of their next six but the newly-promoted outfit still managed to end the campaign in third place, securing qualification for the UEFA Cup. 

Clark remains the last Forest manager to lead the side into Europe. Time will tell whether Nuno Espirito Santo joined that list this season?  

Frank Clark led Nottingham Forest to promotion in 1994 before guiding the side to a third place finish in the Premier League

Carlo Ancelotti 

The four-time Champions League winner is one of four managers to win the Premier League in their debut campaign. The Blues were coming off a season that began in startling form under Scolari and ended even better under Guus Hiddink. 

So it’s no surprise that they continued their devastating displays at the start of the 2009-10 season and secured nine wins from 11 games, while losing twice. 

Chelsea cruised to their third Premier League title under the Italian, who fostered an environment that allowed the club’s star men to flourish. The Londoners scored 103 goals – the second-most in Premier League history. 

They scored four or more goals in nine league matches, five or more in six games and on three occasions they found the net at least seven times. Unfortunately for Ancelotti, Abramovich famously had a short memory and after finishing second in a trophyless campaign, he was out the door. 

Carlo Ancelotti is one of only four managers to win the Premier League in their debut season

Guus Hiddink

For a few years there Hiddink carved out an interesting niche for himself as Chelsea’s go-to caretaker. His second stint in the temporary role came in 2015 when the then-champions languished in midtable following an awful start to the season under Mourinho. 

The Dutchman could do little to salvage that situation, unlike six years prior when he arrived at Stamford Bridge and the team reacted by going on a run of nine wins, one draw and one defeat in his first 11 games. 

In fact, Chelsea finished the campaign with a record of 11 wins, one draw and one defeat under the manager, who was juggling his role in west London with managing the Russia national team. 

The stellar turnaround saw the Blues climb up to third place in the table and they even got their hands on some silverware after beating Everton in the FA Cup final.  

Guus Hiddink led Chelsea to the FA Cup final during his first spell in temporary charge of the club in 2009

Arne Slot 

No Liverpool manager in top-flight history has won as many matches in their first 11 games as Arne Slot. The Dutchman has hit the ground running since his arrival from Feyenoord and he finally has some impressive scalps to add to his ledger. 

A lot was made of the Reds’ gentle start to the campaign but with wins over Chelsea, Brighton, Manchester United and Aston Villa, as well as Champions League victories over RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, it’s fair to say that his team has been sufficiently tested. 

Arguably the most impressive thing about his side is the number of goals they are conceding. The Reds conceded 41 and 47 goals in their last two league campaigns. After 11 matches this term their net has only been breached six times, at least four better than any other side in the division. 

No Liverpool manager in top-flight history has won as many matches in their first 11 games as Arne Slot

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten start as Manchester United manager stretched to 12 matches

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

In the winter of 2019, after suffering a demoralising 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, Manchester United needed a lift and they turned to their former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

If their relationship had only lasted until the end of the season we might look back at his tenure more favourably. To be fair to the club’s chiefs, it would’ve been hard to thank the Norwegian and send him on his way after he had guided them to nine wins and two draws in his first 11 matches in charge. 

But almost as soon as he was made boss full-time, United’s form took a steep decline and they ended the season with only two wins in their final nine games. 

Solskjaer would stay at the club for the next two full seasons, in which they finished third and second in the division – maybe his reign wasn’t as bad as I remembered. The last chapter certainly was, however, as a run of one win in seven games, which included a 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool, sealed his fate.