Liverpool have edged ahead in their lead at the top of the Premier League by four points, thanks to Diogo Jota’s winner in a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
However the victory also came at a cost for Liverpool as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off in the closing stages ahead of a much more testing run of fixtures after the international break.
The defeat for the hosts leaves Palace still in the bottom three with just three points from their opening seven games.
Slot’s smooth start to his tenure saw him become the first Liverpool manager to win eight of his first nine games after beating Bologna 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, the level-headed Dutchman has been quick to point out that tougher tests lie ahead of his side’s Premier League title credentials as the Reds prepare to face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City in their next six Premier League games.
Slot has had ample opportunities to observe both sides of his team at Selhurst Park as they failed to make the most of their first-half dominance, but held out at the back for a fifth clean sheet in seven league games.
Although Palace did have the ball in the net inside 30 seconds, Eddie Nketiah strayed offside before flicking in Ismaila Sarr’s cross.
Liverpool quickly went up a gear and took control, securing the lead after just nine minutes when Jota stole in ahead of Marc Guehi and Trevoh Chalobah to prod in Cody Gakpo’s low cross.
Palace finally flickered into life in first-half stoppage time when Sarr was denied by a fine save from Alisson after finding a gap in the Liverpool defence. The pattern of play continued into the second period with Liverpool unable to put Palace to bed.
Liverpool were dealt a body blow with 12 minutes remaining when Alisson pulled up with a muscle injury.
Arsenal and Manchester City could cut the gap at the top back to one point later on Saturday.
Liverpool will go into the upcoming international break at the summit happy with the new start to life under Slot.