The Premier League’s first game of the weekend was Liverpool’s simple 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. A well timed run and exquisite finish from Diogo Jota was the difference between the two teams after a great driven pass in by Cody Gakpo.
The game wasn’t a classic for the fans but showed the strengths Liverpool has. We’ll look at a few different things from the game and see what they could mean for Arne Slot and his team.
Fierce Competition at Left-Wing
Cody Gakpo, again, had his starting duties and took advantage of it massively. In a great performance from the Dutchman with an assist and countless chances created by himself in some cases, he has really been giving Slot a positive headache at the left-wing (LW) position.
In the 3 games Gakpo has started, he has two goals and two assists and has been the man of the match in all three games.
His power, directness and confidence on the ball is the reason he has succeeded thus far in his short career.
These characteristics are vital for a winger and Gakpo has them in abundance. In the game we saw on Saturday, he was a key outlet for the midfield and defence to find, which was evident with the fact that Gakpo completed his second 90 of the season.
On the other hand, there is Luis Diaz (Lucho), who has had an electric start to the season. The clubs top goal scorer hasn’t scored or assisted in 3 games but much like Gakpo is an explosive and direct winger with a very keen eye for goal.
The Colombian is looking back to his best after the knee injury he suffered 2 years ago.
This all adds up to a selection dilemma for Slot and one which is set to go on for a big part of the season.
Best Centre-Back Partnership in the World
With Virgil van Dijk at the back, any defence is set to be difficult to break down, but with an absolute defensive unit in Ibrahima Konate, you have the ideal partnership.
The only time they were ever properly troubled was the disallowed goal in the first minute and once or twice when Mateta entered the game.
Virgil has been the best centre back in the world for the past six years and doesn’t look like his age is starting to affect him, add to that his tutelage of Ibou you have the perfect player to help develop his partner.
LFC have started the season with the best defence in the Premier League and Europe, having conceded just four goals in all competitions.
It's gotten better with the help of Alisson, Caoimhin Kelleher and a much defensively improved Trent. The key is obviously the staunch centre-back partnership, who very rarely look troubled.
Some people may believe there is another team with a better partnership at the back than these two, but the stats and eyes don’t lie, Liverpool clearly have the best.
Depth at Attacking Midfield
On Saturday, Curtis Jones started in the attacking midfield position, with Dom Szoboszlai rotated out after playing in twice in five days.
Jones’ first start in this position and it was fairly clear that the creative pressure that he was under was a little too much for him to handle.
In the game, other than the clear creative forces Liverpool have, Szobo usually offers a different type of threat through the middle of the pitch, this is mainly down to the athleticism Szobo possess’ .
Jones does not have the same physical and technical abilities that Szobo has and when not on the pitch, the Hungarian is missed quite a lot.
There just didn’t seem to be a link between the deep lying midfielders and the attack, it was often Jota dropping in to try and flip the pitch for the team.