The travelling supporters saved their favourite song until the end of Saturday’s 2-1 win at Wolves.
“Liverpool, Liverpool, top of the league.”
While Manchester City and Arsenal squabble between themselves, Liverpool — the pests who refuse to disappear — have quietly gone about the business of progressing to the Premier League summit.
No Jurgen Klopp? So far, no problem. Seven wins out of eight in all competitions has given Arne Slot the super start he needed but what does it actually mean to be top of the table after six games and should Liverpool get excited?
What happens to early pacesetters?
Manchester City were out in front after six games last season and went on to win the title. In Liverpool’s Premier League-winning campaign of 2019-20, Klopp’s side were also top of the pile after six games and had established a healthy five-point lead.
So perhaps the current standings are a good omen, then?
Well, here’s the curveball. In the past 10 seasons, only four times have the leaders at this stage successfully completed the mission: City in 2017-18 and Chelsea in 2014-15, plus the two already mentioned.
If further evidence is needed to highlight why the early league standings can be misleading, look no further than Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton, who were top at this point in 2020 before dropping off significantly and finishing mid-table.
The make-up of Liverpool’s squad suggests they will have far more staying power than their neighbours, but it’s too soon to judge — especially with tougher fixtures on the horizon.
How have Liverpool done it?
Even considering the small sample size, it’s clear Liverpool are heading in the right direction. Virgil van Dijk has a defensive partner, Ibrahima Konate, who complements him well and, aside from a 15-minute wobble early in the second half at Molineux that cost Liverpool a goal, the Frenchman is back to his best.
Ryan Gravenberch seems to have solved a problem in deep-lying midfield as he mixes guts and guile alongside Alexis MacAllister. Against Wolves, he won all eight of his duels and made the most tackles (three) while also playing 19 passes into the final third.
Across the division, only three players who have started every game this season have a better passing accuracy than Gravenberch (89 per cent) and he told Sky Sports after the Wolves win that regaining a starting spot has given him confidence.
Slot likes to work with a small group, preferring to build a strong team and stick with it. Eight players, including Gravenberch, have started every game, while Konate has been an ever-present since coming off the bench at half-time on the opening day of the season when Slot identified a weakness without him.
Goalkeeper Alisson missed one game through injury and Diogo Jota was swapped for Darwin Nunez in what is the most obvious rotation dilemma. Placing so much trust and belief in a core group of players has clear benefits if they stay fit.
Sharing around the goals is helping, too. Luis Diaz has developed a ruthless streak, and all five forwards are off the mark across all competitions. Liverpool are turning into a winning machine again but October, November and December are going to be tricky months. Tough tests in the Champions League will mix with potentially defining Premier League games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa. Only then will we start to know the full capabilities of this side.
How have Liverpool responded to being top?
Slot, so calm and composed in his public-facing moments, has been quick to play down the early league position, largely because Liverpool are yet to face any of last season’s top eight in the Premier League.
After beating Ipswich and Brentford in their first two games, he reserved judgement but said his side were on the right track after the impressive 3-0 win away at Manchester United, Liverpool’s toughest assignment so far.
In his press conference after the win over Wolves Slot said: “It’s more at 19 games when you start to feel where you are. We still have to prove it when we come across teams like Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa to see if we can stay up there.”
Liverpool’s long-serving players know all about the demands and exactly what is required to get over the line. In the 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2021-22 seasons, Liverpool were top at the equivalent stage, yet only finished first once. It is why Van Dijk is keeping his cool.
“December is a crucial month,” the captain told reporters after the Wolves win. “Teams that come through well and with no injuries have a good chance to be successful. It’s so early in the season that anything can still happen. There is one unbeaten team (Manchester City).”
Andy Robertson has a similar view. “Who knows?” he replied, when asked how many teams he thinks are in the title race. “There’s far too many games ahead. There’s a lot of teams looking good. You know by Christmas who is in it, and what kind of position you are in. We just have to take it game by game.”
What needs to be different this season?
The problem last term wasn’t so much the injuries to key players, but how they struggled to find top form on their return. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Jota all missed spells and were rusty when they came back into the team.
Slot will hope that his trusted medical and performance support staff, managed by Ruben Peeters, can improve the injury record and keep the players fresh and fired up.
This time last year, we were talking about a Liverpool Reloaded. Well, now it is Liverpool Refreshed, courtesy of new instructions from Slot and renewed energy. “The staff have been really good at making us prepared for every single game, making sure we are as fresh as possible,” Robertson says.
“If we are struggling then we need to be ready to fight,” Van Dijk adds. “Look at the last 10 minutes (on Saturday) I don’t know how many times Mo (Salah) was in the box heading balls away and that’s the commitment we need from everyone.”
(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
