Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool last summer after nearly a decade of success at Anfield, with Arne Slot replacing the German manager flawlessly this season.
The appointment from Feyenoord has proven to be the dream successor to Klopp at Liverpool, with Slot leading the Reds to a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League with ten games to go with the Merseyside giants also set to take part in the League Cup final later this month.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 28 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 66 | 26 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 28 | 54 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 33 | 11 | 48 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 27 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 53 | 37 | 16 | 47 |
With Liverpool also strong favourites for the UEFA Champions League, Slot’s succession of Klopp has been nothing short of perfect, with the Dutch manager the dream fit to replace the Anfield legend despite his huge impact at the club.
And Gary Lineker has now suggested that Klopp managed to do something at Liverpool after leaving the club that Sir Alex Ferguson never managed to do after the great Scottish manager departed Manchester United last decade.
Sir Alex Ferguson failed to leave Manchester United in a healthy state, unlike Jurgen Klopp
Speaking on Match of the Day after United’s FA Cup exit against Fulham, the pundit noted that the Red Devils were not left in a good state by Ferguson after the legendary manager’s departure in 2013, something Klopp did not do at Liverpool last year.
Tim Sherwood recently noted how Slot has improved Liverpool by taking the players left by Klopp to a new level, and the difference in how the Reds were left by Klopp compared to United by Ferguson is night and day, with the Manchester giants still struggling to return to their former best.
Lineker said when talking about the difference between Liverpool and United: “If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s a testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state, so the structure is really good.
“That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [time at Old Trafford]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers, I think from there they had problems.”
Who have been Liverpool’s most improved players this season?
With just one major signing last summer in Federico Chiesa, the majority of Liverpool’s success this season has come down to Slot taking existing players and transforming them into genuine superstars in the Premier League.
And as a result, a number of players have improved greatly this season, with Jamie Carragher comparing Ryan Gravenberch to Patrick Vieira as Rafa Benitez lauded Alexis Mac Allister for his growth under Slot in the midfield this campaign.
Indeed, Liverpool’s squad has been raised by Slot’s arrival last summer, and with the Premier League all-but confirmed at this stage in the season, the Reds can be proud with how the executed their succession plan for Klopp.
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