LIVERPOOL
Chris Bascombe
How have they done?
Four wins. Top of the league. One goal conceded. So far, so decent. Everything predicted in pre-season has come to pass four games in, the only serious note of caution being it is only four games. Alisson is a good goalkeeper, despite his Xabi Alonso impressions. Virgil van Dijk continues to solidify Liverpool’s defence. The front three keep scoring, even if they are yet to push too hard on the pedal. And the weird obsession from parts of Manchester with all that is said and written about Jurgen Klopp intensifies. Maybe it is healthy for Liverpool – it demonstrates a level of concern with their improvement – but it is also tedious and a touch pathetic given Klopp is the first to admit his side have a lot of catching up to do.
What has the mood been like?
It has been positive for most of the past three years, so it will not be changing while Liverpool are competing at the top of the Premier League. Klopp’s default position is optimism. If anything, he has tried to dampen the hype, sensing expectation can too quickly turn into presumption. There is plenty of work to do. He is the least excited by being top at this stage of the season.
Have the signings looked good?
Alisson (right) has looked fine when it comes to saving shots – always useful in a keeper but not to be taken for granted when you think about recent Liverpool No1s. Naby Keita shows promise, but Xherdan Shaqiri is yet to start and Fabinho has barely made the bench.
Who has impressed and who needs to raise their game?
The back four have outshone the front three, with Joe Gomez proving an able deputy for Dejan Lovren. Klopp will have a dilemma when the Croatia international is fully fit. James Milner has been the most capable of the midfield players. Mohamed Salah already has two goals without looking as sharp as he will be in a few weeks. There is little reason for concern at the moment, but everyone can and will improve. What issue does the manager need to fix as a priority? “Winning ugly” is all well and good. It is preferable to losing or drawing ugly. You do not want it to become too much of a habit, however. Winning with style has been Klopp’s way so there is room for a little reminder Liverpool are not yet playing with the panache that took them to the Champions League final. This is a arguably a churlish observation given Liverpool have collected 12 points from 12. A scrappy 1-0 win in forthcoming games with Spurs and Manchester City would swell rather than diminish confidence, so no one really cares how the victories come. The fluency between the midfield and front three requires work, but Liverpool need tweaks rather than major fixes.