Arne Slot’s first game in charge of Liverpool got off to the perfect start on Saturday with a 2-0 win over newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
Two goals in the space of five second-half minutes from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah were enough to settle the Portman Road clash, meaning Liverpool moved to the top of the very early Premier League table.
Incredibly, this is the first time a Liverpool manager has won their first Premier League game in charge of the club since Gerard Houlier and Roy Evans beat Southampton in 1998 when they assumed joint managerial roles.
Arne Slot is the first manager to win their opening Premier League game for Liverpool since Gérard Houllier and Roy Evans beat Southampton in 1998 when they were jointly in charge.
The new era has officially begun. ? pic.twitter.com/ZzsjmdfWWz
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 17, 2024
Since then, Rafael Benitez, Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish, Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp have all manned the dugout, with each failing to make a winning start.
Liverpool manager records in first Premier League match
Benitez came close to winning his first league match in charge of the Reds, with Djibril Cisse giving Liverpool a half-time lead away at Tottenham back in 2004, only for Jermain Defoe to find a 71st-minute equaliser.
Hodgson came even closer in 2010, when he was only denied an opening Premier League victory by a 90th-minute own goal from goalkeeper Pepe Reina after David N’Gog had put the Reds in front just after half-time.
Dalglish’s second spell in charge at Anfield started with an embarrassing 2-1 loss away at minnows Blackpool in 2011, despite Fernando Torres giving Liverpool a third-minute lead. And it was even worse for Rodgers, who saw his side thumped 3-0 at West Brom in 2012.
And even eventual Premier League and Champions League-winner Klopp couldn’t make a winning start, drawing his first English top-flight match 0-0 against Tottenham in 2015.
Of course, regardless of their contrasting Premier League managerial debuts, Slot will hope he can emulate the achievements of Klopp during his glittering spell at Anfield.