Liverpool weren’t in a rush to get away from the Red Bull Arena.
No dash for the plane, no bleary eyed arrival at John Lennon Airport in the early hours after Arne Slot decided they would stay another night in Leipzig before returning to Merseyside. The Dutchman will have slept soundly.
The caveat when praise was being showered on the early stages of his Anfield reign prior to the international break was that the fixture list had been kind to Liverpool. Since then the bar has been raised in impressive fashion with narrow but deserved victories over Chelsea and RB Leipzig. That caveat no longer applies.
It’s the first time in the club’s 132-year history they have won 11 of their opening 12 matches or registered six successive away triumphs at the start of a season.
“We should be proud because so many great teams have worn this shirt and so many great managers have been at the club, so to achieve something that hasn’t been done before is almost impossible and always nice,” Slot said in his post-match press conference. “But there is something that is much nicer than records and you know what I mean by that — trophies.”
Few expected Liverpool to be serious contenders for the biggest prizes this season given the momentous changes of the summer when Slot replaced an icon in Jurgen Klopp and a period of transition seemed inevitable.
But if momentum is maintained against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday then the conversation will shift. We’re nearing the point where an eye-catching start becomes something much more significant with Slot’s side top of the Premier League and one of only two clubs in the revamped Champions League, along with Aston Villa, with a 100 per cent record.
Liverpool are certainly a very different beast to the one which was beaten 3-1 by Arsenal when the clubs last met in north London in February, a contest when glaring defensive errors were punished and Ibrahima Konate was sent off.
Their record against the traditional ‘big six’ was poor last season with just 12 points taken out of a possible 30. This time around it’s six out of six with Manchester United and Chelsea defeated.
The foundations are a lot more solid. What was most striking about Wednesday’s contest against a Leipzig side who only trail Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on goal difference was how Liverpool quietened the home crowd with the level of control they exerted.
After Darwin Nunez tucked away Mohamed Salah’s nod down from Kostas Tsimikas’ cross, the outcome was rarely in doubt. Yes, they got a bit ragged late on when Caoimhin Kelleher made a couple of big saves, but the hosts’ expected goals (xG) total was just 0.76.
Chelsea’s xG at Anfield last weekend was 0.99. Liverpool’s opponents prior to that? Crystal Palace (0.64), Bologna (0.59), Wolves (0.63) and West Ham (0.57). They just aren’t giving away many high quality chances.
“You were not inside the stadium? You thought we didn’t dominate?” Slot responded incredulously to an inquiry over whether he was concerned about the performance.
“If you play good teams and if you play a pot one team in an away game, there will always be moments in the game for the other team. The way I looked at this game was that we had, for large parts, total dominance. This is how I like to see our team play: much more chances than the other team, much more ball possession, much more time freeing up the midfield from build-up.”
This was Liverpool’s seventh clean sheet so far this season with just five goals conceded. Only once in the club’s history have they let in fewer after 12 matches and that was in 1977-78 (four) when the legendary Ray Clemence was between the posts.
Losing your No 1 goalkeeper to injury would have a destabilising effect on most teams but Kelleher has proved once again in the absence of Alisson that he’s the best back-up around. He understandably wanted to move on last summer in search of regular game-time but he’s demonstrating why Liverpool dug their heels in.
Having such a settled and commanding centre-back combination helps. Virgil van Dijk, who completed 70 of his 74 passes (95 per cent) and won possession on six occasions, has embraced being given the added responsibility of launching attacks with line-breaking distribution rather than relying on a deep-lying midfielder to carry out that role.
Liverpool’s captain continues to excel — another nine out of 10 display — as talks over a new contract continue. He reacted like a proud father when he raced to embrace Ryan Gravenberch after his fellow Dutchman had got back to make a vital interception.
Alongside Van Dijk, Konate showcased against his former club that he has regained his mojo under Slot after a difficult end to the Klopp era. Since being left out against Ipswich Town on the opening weekend, Konate has started every game bar the Carabao Cup tie with West Ham. That’s also the only match that Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have missed.
Alexander-Arnold has been playing with some discomfort since returning from England duty with a muscle issue, but keeps on putting himself out there. His defensive improvement so far this season is there for all to see with the right-back proving adept at blocking out all the noise over his future as Real Madrid’s interest cranks up.
The only position in defence that’s really been rotated so far is left-back with Tsimikas making his fourth start of the season against Leipzig. Being handed UEFA’s man of the match award flattered him somewhat, but once again he repaid the faith shown in him by Slot. Andy Robertson is expected to be recalled to face Arsenal.
It’s a backline well protected by the athleticism and quality of midfield double act Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister with Nunez, who was harshly denied a penalty in the first half, setting the tone from the front with his work ethic off the ball.
Injuries are a nagging concern with five players missing the trip to Germany but Slot is juggling his resources intelligently with Mohamed Salah among those substituted with one eye on Sunday.
Liverpool will head for the Emirates in buoyant mood. It’s an opportunity to make a statement in their toughest assignment so far. They have the firepower to beat anyone but it’s the manner in which they’re keeping opponents at bay which fuels the belief that Slot could get the silverware he wants to accompany those records earlier than anyone anticipated.
(Top photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
