An ill-timed international break has put Liverpool’s season on hold but it offers an opportunity to reflect on the first four weeks of the 2023/24 season, which have been promising.
In four league fixtures, fans watched the ball hit the back of the net 12 times – nine scored and three conceded. The Reds recorded a third victory in a row in the top flight last weekend at Anfield, defeating Unai Emery’s Aston Villa 3-0 to remain unbeaten this season. With three wins and a draw, Jurgen Klopp would be satisfied with his team’s overall performances so far.
The German tactician will be keen for Liverpool to harness the momentum they have built in the initial part of the Premier League season when they return from the international break. With that being said, let us take a look at the three things we have learned from the opening four matchweeks.
- Attacking prowess
Liverpool’s biggest strength this season is the sheer firepower they possess in attack. All five of the Reds’ senior forwards—Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz—would start for most teams around the world.
Jurgen Klopp has the luxury of picking between them all if required, despite the imbalance in the team that can cause. What makes it harder is that the aforementioned players have all delivered what has been asked of them and they are all hungry to continue. While Klopp is still unsure what Liverpool’s best front three is, being in four competitions means each of them will get ample opportunities to play and shine.
When adding in new creative and dynamic midfielders like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch—who is yet to kick a ball for the team—as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold in his hybrid role, Liverpool could well break records for goals scored this season.
- New signings are clicking
Liverpool have undergone midfield refurbishment this summer after a poor 2022/23 campaign. The Reds spent around £150m on four new midfielders—Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch. They have all come in at the expense of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Mac Allister and Szoboszlai have seamlessly slotted into the Liverpool team, adding much-needed energy, legs and dynamism to the engine room. Endo has shown flashes of promise in a couple of appearances, while big things are expected from deadline-day recruit Gravenberch after he becomes match fit.
The new signings are blending well which is a great sign for what is about to come in the weeks and months after the September international break.
- They still have a major problem in defence
Liverpool’s defensive problems haven’t magically disappeared.
For all the good things Trent Alexander-Arnold has offered from his hybrid role, the Merseyside club have been left remarkably exposed to counter-attacking situations at times. He adds so much from a creative point of view when he steps into midfield, but this inverted right-back role is still creating issues on the right-hand side of the backline, particularly when Ibrahima Konate isn’t playing.
It won’t come as a shock to fans that Liverpool have looked vulnerable at the back in the opening weeks of the season, and with the dip in form of Virgil van Dijk and the fitness concerns of Ibrahima Konate, that vulnerability could only worsen.
No doubt Klopp’s men have shown great character and fighting spirit to register comeback wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively. However, with the new system in place, there are blaring holes in defence which if not addressed timely can cause problems in the season ahead.
