Liverpool players have emphatically answered Arne Slot demand he made in Man Utd media room

The away fans were still singing their hearts out to the Anfield anthems when took his seat in the Old Trafford press room back in August. Amid the praise for his squad following their impressive start to the season ,

"Only three games have been played, only games from Sunday to Sunday, there's still a lot for us to prove," said the Reds manager. "I don't want to be the one that spoils everything, but two years ago was the last time we played in the Champions League and we all know how that season ended."

A month later, Slot was echoing the same sentiment after the 2-1 Premier League triumph at Wolves. "Two years ago was the last time we played Champions League and we all know what kind of a season that was, and last season we had a much better season but every time Virgil (van Dijk) and other players could get a rest during the week and play once a week," he stated.

"So that's a completely different situation to playing Champions League during the week against a very tough and hard opponent and then play Arsenal and then play Aston Villa and then play all these top teams we are going to face. For us there is still a lot to prove especially if you look back at the season two years ago."

The memory of Liverpool's most recent Champions League campaign is still fresh, with a 4-1 thrashing at Napoli in their opening group game and a humiliating 5-2 defeat at home by Real Madrid in the first knockout round. Last season's Europa League run, where Liverpool often fielded much-changed teams, ended in the quarter-finals when Atalanta, arguably the first challenging opponent the Reds faced, won 3-0 at Anfield on their way to winning the competition, reports .

It's no surprise then, that Slot was urging caution before making any firm predictions about his squad's ability to handle so many high-profile games in quick succession, especially given his preference not to rotate too much. However, the evidence so far has been very promising.

Liverpool has won all four games in the new-look Champions League first stage - only once before, in 2021/22, have they had such a good start - and have also navigated some tricky domestic challenges. Four days after beating AC Milan, Bournemouth - who would later beat Arsenal and Manchester City - were defeated 3-0 at Anfield.

Less than 72 hours after the home win against Bologna, Liverpool scraped a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace. And in the next game after the win at RB Leipzig, Slot's side managed to secure a 2-2 draw at title contenders Arsenal.

The Reds face another test this Saturday evening, fresh off their 4-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. They're set to host top-four rival Aston Villa at Anfield.

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The challenges don't stop there, with a home game against Manchester City following Real Madrid's visit later this month. December will see them travel to Girona before hosting Fulham at home.

If Slot maintains his team selection consistency, we can expect at least three changes for the Villa match. Liverpool has been making three to four alterations to the Premier League starting line-up that directly follows a Champions League game this season.

Thanks to their strong start in the league stage, they're well-positioned to qualify for the knockout stages with games to spare. This could allow them to rest players during January's final two games at home to Lille and away to PSV Eindhoven.

These matches are followed by a home game against Ipswich Town and a trip to Bournemouth respectively. For now, it's clear that Slot's players have stepped up to the Champions League challenge set by their head coach.