'The first of three finals' - how good can Liverpool's season be? - Voice of Asia

Liverpool manager Arne Slot described his team's 3-1 comeback victory against Southampton as "the first of three finals," a win that extended Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League table to 16 points.

Next up for Liverpool are the Champions League knockout stage match against Paris Saint-Germain and the League Cup final against Newcastle, before they return to league competition. Although Liverpool were eliminated from the FA Cup by Plymouth last month, ending their hopes of a Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup treble, they still have the chance to win three trophies.

Slot stated on the BBC's "Match of the Day" program, "It's the mark of a good team that you can win in different ways." He added, "The first half was terrible – not just because of the way we played, but also because of the energy we showed."

In the post-match press conference, he further stated, "This was the most important game of the week, the first of three finals. I hope in the next final we can do better than we did in the first one." Mohamed Salah scored two penalties at Anfield, and Darwin Nunez also contributed a goal, helping the team come back from an early deficit. In the first half, mistakes from Virgil van Dijk and Alisson allowed Will Smallbone to give bottom-ranked Southampton the lead.

Since taking over from club legend Klopp, Slot has been committed to leading the team through a trophy-filled first season, and he has already secured two hard-fought victories within a week. Salah said, "I don't think we played very well today," even though he has already scored 32 goals in all competitions. Salah has been involved in 44 goals in the Premier League this season (27 goals, 17 assists), one of the highest tallies of goal involvements by a player in a 38-game season. Salah added, "If you want to win the Champions League or the Premier League, you have to win these kinds of games."

On Tuesday, Liverpool will host Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, having narrowly won the first leg 1-0 at the Parc des Princes. Slot joked, "The only good thing about the first half was that they saved energy for (the game against Paris Saint-Germain), didn't run at all." He added, "That's probably the first time I've seen that kind of pace this season. Against Paris Saint-Germain, we have to raise the intensity a notch. Compared to today's game, if we want to have a chance to go to the next round, we have to raise the intensity three, four, five, six, seven times."

Next Sunday, Liverpool will compete against Newcastle at Wembley Stadium for the League Cup title, which would be their first trophy under the Dutch manager. Harvey Elliott, who came on as a substitute at half-time in Saturday's game and scored a goal in Paris, told BBC Radio 5 Live, "The last two games have been very tough – it's not about me, it's about the whole team. We need to keep winning games – it's as simple as that. It's important to take it game by game and make sure we go into the games in the best way."

Only five English teams – or rather, three clubs – have previously won three major trophies in a single season. This does not include those competitions that require qualification, such as the Community Shield, European Super Cup, or Club World Cup. Manchester United (1998-99) and Manchester City (2022-23) have completed the recognized treble of the Champions League, league title, and FA Cup. Liverpool have previously won three trophies in a season twice. In the 1983-84 season, they won all three trophies they were able to win that season – the old First Division title, the League Cup, and the European Cup. Is this a good omen? That season they also lost to second-tier club Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Reds also won a hat-trick of trophies in the 2000-01 season – the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup. Manchester City won a domestic treble in the 2018-19 season – the league, FA Cup, and League Cup. Many teams have won two trophies in a season. As most countries do not have a League Cup, Celtic are the only team to have won a quadruple of trophies, winning the European Cup and three domestic trophies in the 1966-67 season. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, and Inter Milan are the other European teams to have previously won a treble.

Now, the Premier League title race is virtually settled, with Liverpool far ahead. Statistical agency Opta believes Liverpool have a 98.9% chance of winning the title. Arsenal, 16 points behind, have two games in hand – including a game against Manchester United on Sunday. The Reds need to gain 18 points from their remaining 27 to secure the title, while Arsenal can only reach a maximum of 87 points. The Reds could secure the title as early as April 5, but Arsenal would need to lose all four of their games before then, while Liverpool win all three of theirs. But if the Gunners win their catch-up games – and maintain the results of their other games, Liverpool will secure the title in their game against Chelsea on May 4.

Slot said, "It's 16 points now, but in a few weeks when we play Everton, it might be down to seven." Arsenal have three league games before the Reds' next top-flight match against Everton on April 2. In the Champions League, Liverpool have also become favorites after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg. Opta believes they have a 26% chance of winning the competition. Liverpool are also overwhelming favorites for next Sunday's League Cup final against Newcastle – with bookmakers offering odds of around 1-4.