Manchester City sowed the seeds for their latest title success before they had even completed their 2022 triumph.
In May last year, as the team fought hard on the field to hold off the challenge of Liverpool, off it the top brass agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Erling Haaland.
It was a bold statement by a club used to making bold statements.
The prolific Norwegian striker joined them in the summer and, almost instantly, an already formidable team became a seemingly unstoppable force.
Obviously it was not quite so straightforward, but after City’s powerful spring charge – when they reeled in and then flew past Arsenal without even a hint of feeling pressure – few could argue they are now one of the greatest teams to have graced the Premier League.
Haaland has been at the heart of it, scoring a barely believable and record-breaking 36 league goals so far in the process.
He not only surpassed the greats of the past, but left them trailing in his wake.
He overtook the previous record mark of 34 – set by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer in 42-game seasons in the mid-1990s – with five matches to spare.
He helped himself to four hat-tricks and formed a potent combination with the team’s chief playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne.
Rarely has a player made as big an impact as Haaland has and, given how City have adapted and improved around him as the season has gone on, there would seem to be plenty more to come.
Yet while Haaland may have been a hugely significant factor in City’s fifth title in six seasons, it would be unfair to give him all the credit.
De Bruyne has enjoyed another highly influential campaign, laying on 16 assists and scoring seven goals himself. Jack Grealish, now looking far more comfortable with his £100million tag, has also been a driving force while Rodri has developed into one of the strongest midfielders in the game and John Stones has excelled in a hybrid defence-midfield role.
Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Nathan Ake have also made big contributions at different times.
The key once again, however, has been the man in charge, Pep Guardiola. The inspirational Catalan has produced another masterclass of management, underlining his pre-eminence in the game and strengthening his position among the greats.
After two successive title wins with false nines or makeshift centre-forwards, Haaland’s arrival signalled a change of approach from the former Barcelona boss.
Initially there were doubts, with fears Haaland’s presence might disrupt City’s natural flow. Indeed, early on, it did seem his goals were masking some disjointed and indifferent performances.
Form either side of the World Cup break was patchy and underwhelming and allowed Arsenal to take early control of the race.
Yet Guardiola worked through the inconsistencies and ironed out the problems, with excellent man-management, tactical nous and his ferocious winning mentality. There were some well-timed criticisms, surprise selection calls and eyebrow-raising departures – Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo – all of which have been vindicated as City came good when it really mattered.
Arsenal obviously let a strong position slip but, in a disrupted season, when City had more players at the World Cup than any other club, Guardiola paced the challenge perfectly. To have maintained intensity while also competing in two other competitions makes it all the more remarkable.
City still have to win two more finals to complete a glorious treble, but their Premier League success alone is a phenomenal achievement.
Slot relishing Liverpool's Real Madrid, Man City double-header
Arne Slot is relishing Liverpool's upcoming double-header against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Liverpool came from behind thanks to Mohamed Salah's second-half double to beat Southampton 3-2 on Sunday.
That victory at St Mary's moved the Reds eight points clear of Man City, who were thrashed 4-0 at home by Tottenham on Saturday for a fifth straight defeat in all competitions.
Pep Guardiola's team visit Anfield on December 1, though first the Reds host European champions Madrid in the Champions League.
And Slot cannot wait for Liverpool to go up against two heavyweights.
"It's what you need in a league like this, with so many quality teams. You have to keep winning because if you don’t, the other ones will," the Dutchman told BBC Sport.
"That's what we try to do every game, now it's Real Madrid and next Sunday it's Man City.
"You couldn't wish for more than playing these two games in the upcoming week, at home."
No manager in Premier League history has reached 10 wins in fewer matches from the start of their career in the competition than Slot (12 games, level with Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti).
Liverpool were indebted to Salah, however, with the forward dragging them level and then converting the winner from the penalty spot after Mateus Fernandes had put Southampton into a surprise lead early in the second half, following goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Adam Armstrong before the break.
Salah became the first player to score in five successive Premier League appearances for Liverpool since the Egyptian himself in October 2021 (seven in a row). His second goal was his 100th away from Anfield for Liverpool in all competitions.
"It was very good that Mo scored in that moment," said Slot of Salah's first goal, which came in the 65th minute when he nudged Ryan Gravenberch's pass beyond the stranded Alex McCarthy.
"It was not the best period of the game so he helped us with that and then afterwards we dominated so much, they got tired.
"That is what special players do. They can score goals out of nowhere. It's not completely out of nowhere because the assist of Gravenberch is a great ball as well, but Mo is known for the timing of his runs, he feels the right moment to run behind the last line, and normally you know he’s not offside because he always finds the right moment, and then he scores the goal, which was very helpful for us."
While Slot acknowledged Liverpool were tested by the Premier League's bottom club, he felt his team were always in control.
He added: "It wasn't a surprise for us, we saw how they played against Man City, Arsenal and Newcastle in away games, never mind how they would play in a home game against a top team. But we dominated. Because we went down 2-1, it made it really difficult for us.
"We dominated the whole game, which is not that easy against Southampton because they want possession, they want to dominate the game as well, but they couldn't. Because the scoreline was as it was, it felt like a difficult match, but if you look at the underlying numbers we deserved to win."
Those metrics support Slot's point. Liverpool accumulated 2.9 expected goals from 27 shots, 11 of which were on target, while they also limited Southampton to 37.9% possession.
Cooper sacked by Leicester after winless run
Leicester City have dismissed manager Steve Cooper after a run of four Premier League games without a win.
Cooper, who previously managed Leicester's rivals Nottingham Forest, only took charge of the Foxes for 15 games in all competitions.
He was appointed in June, after Enzo Maresca left to join Chelsea following Leicester's promotion back to the Premier League.
After going six league games without a win at the start of the season, Cooper appeared to have steadied the ship with victories over Bournemouth and Southampton.
However, a winless streak of four top-flight matches, in which Leicester lost to Forest, Manchester United and Chelsea, while drawing with Ipswich Town, has seen Cooper lose his position.
In a statement released on Sunday, Leicester confirmed Cooper's assistants Alan Tate and Steve Rands had also left the club, with Ben Dawson set to take charge until a replacement is appointed.
Former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter was reportedly in talks to join Leicester prior to Cooper's appointment in the summer.
The Foxes are 16th in the Premier League on 10 points after 12 games.
Southampton 2-3 Liverpool: Salah brace sends Reds eight points clear
Liverpool went eight points clear at the top of the Premier League as they came from behind to seal a thrilling 3-2 victory over Southampton at St Mary's.
Two second-half goals from Mohamed Salah turned Sunday's game on its head after Mateus Fernandes had given bottom club Southampton a surprise 2-1 lead.
Dominik Szoboszlai had given Liverpool a 30th-minute lead by curling home via the far post after Flynn Downes' dreadful clearance landed at his feet inside the area.
However, the outstanding Tyler Dibling was felled by Andrew Robertson for a Southampton penalty on the stroke of half-time. Adam Armstrong's spot-kick was repelled by Caoimhin Kelleher, but the striker kept his nerve to tuck home the equaliser.
Armstrong then turned provider when Fernandes swept home Southampton's second in the 56th minute, but their lead would not last.
Salah cushioned a searching Ryan Gravenberch pass beyond a stranded Alex McCarthy for 2-2 in the 65th minute, then saw his inswinging cross handled by Southampton substitute Yukinari Sugawara seven minutes from time.
The Egyptian scored what proved to be the winner from the resulting penalty, and he almost got a hat-trick when he crashed a shot off the base of the post in the 88th minute.
Southampton remain bottom of the table, five points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves. Liverpool, meanwhile, are sitting pretty ahead of next week’s meeting with Manchester City, who were routed 4-0 by Tottenham on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Salah helps Slot into history books
Despite a lacklustre defensive performance, Liverpool earned their 10th victory in 12 Premier League games this season (one draw, one defeat), thanks primarily to Salah's quality in attack.
Salah has become the first Liverpool player to score in five successive Premier League games since the Egyptian himself did so in seven straight matches in October 2021.
His penalty, meanwhile, was his 100th goal away from Anfield for the Reds across all competitions.
Slot has now joined former Chelsea bosses Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti as the fastest managers to reach 10 Premier League wins upon their arrival in the division.
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