Brentford manager Thomas Frank, right, called Arne Slot's Liverpool 'the best team in the Premier League and the world' after their game on Saturday. Getty Images
Brentford manager Thomas Frank, right, called Arne Slot's Liverpool 'the best team in the Premier League and the world' after their game on Saturday. Getty Images
Brentford manager Thomas Frank, right, called Arne Slot's Liverpool 'the best team in the Premier League and the world' after their game on Saturday. Getty Images
Brentford manager Thomas Frank, right, called Arne Slot's Liverpool 'the best team in the Premier League and the world' after their game on Saturday. Getty Images

Arne Slot: It is far too early to call Liverpool best team in world


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Arne Slot has played down Brentford manager Thomas Frank's comments that his Liverpool team are currently the best in the world.

Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the Premier League – with a game in hand on second-placed Arsenal – after their 2-0 win at Brentford on Saturday.

The Merseyside club also lead the Uefa Champions League table by three points having won all six of their games so far, with Lille up next on Tuesday at Anfield.

After Darwin Nunez's late double sealed all three points at the GTech Community Stadium, Frank did not hold back in his praise for Liverpool.

“We just played [Manchester] City and Arsenal and now Liverpool, in a short amount of time. For me, they’re a level above the two teams.

“They’re so good all over the pitch … it’s the best team in the Premier League and the world.”

While Slot, who is enjoying a magnificent season after replacing Jurgen Klopp as manager last summer, is flattered by the praise, he insisted his team have achieved nothing yet.

“His opinion means something to me because he has shown at Brentford how well he has done for so many years without spending crazy amounts of money,” said the Dutchman in Monday's press conference.

“Every time he is able to perform with his teams and makes it so hard for top six teams to play against.

“But I think it's far too early to say these things. The Champions League format is different. We have to face a lot of teams.

“Can we judge the league table in the Champions League? Very difficult to judge. But it's always nice to get compliments from a manger who has proved himself in the Premier League.”

After taking on the Ligue 1 side this week, Liverpool's final group-stage game sees Slot return to his home country as they take on PSV Eindhoven next Wednesday.

The Reds are all but through to the knockout stage, needing just a draw against Lille to guarantee a top-eight spot and direct entry to the last 16.

Despite having one foot in the next round, Slot made clear securing three points once again is the main priority.

“We want to keep it going to the end, and win every single game,” the former Feyenoord coach added.

“We just want to add top eight. We know we need a point for that. But this team has never gone out playing for a point.

“Every single game we have played, be it at Old Trafford or Arsenal, we have not changed our style. That's what we want to do tomorrow again. We always play for the win.

“With this new set-up, you think ending number one is the best position to end up but because it's such a strange league table, because every week, even if you face team lower down the table, they are the hardest team to face and if you finish number one you could face them.

“I'm not thinking at the league table in a way that if you finish number one you get the easiest team because being on top doesn't tell you you're the best team. It's impossible to say because of the strange format we have.”

Bruno Genesio's side are currently in eighth place in the Champions League having won four, drawn one and lost one of their matches – the last of which saw them beat Sturm Graz 3-2 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

And Slot was full of praise for what Genesio has achieved at Lille – and at his previous club Rennes.

“I am not surprised but impressed,” said Slot. “I was impressed by their manager Bruno Genesio at Rennes, at the way his team played.

“I saw they beat Atletico, surprise, and Real, surprise, but now I've seen many games of them and I'm not surprised. They've deserved every single point.

“It's not because they have faced easy competition. They've faced Sporting when Ruben Amorim was still there. They have faced Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and now they're facing us and then my former club Feyenoord.

“So they haven't been lucky with the fixtures and that's the reason I'm so impressed.”

Slot revealed that while defender Joe Gomez and forward Diogo Jota will not play against Lille, they should be back from their respective injuries “in weeks, not months”.

Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final

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Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')

The specs

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Transmission: 9-speed auto

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:

Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')

Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate

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England squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale 

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse

Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

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Transmission: 10-speed automatic

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While you're here
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Updated: January 21, 2025, 2:43 AM`