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The Premier League champions had been questioned when the new season began, but they provided the perfect answer on and off the field.
Thiago Friday. Jota Saturday. Three points on Sunday.
As the weekends progress, it was pretty good for Liverpool. On and off the court, they took care of business.
What a difference a few days can make. How easily fear and worry can be eliminated. All it takes is £ 70 million ($ 90 million) worth of new signings and a convincing win against an opponent.
Simple, huh?
It seems absurd to suggest that the mood has been transformed at Anfield. How, after all, could there be any negativity given what Jurgen Klopp and his team have accomplished in the last two seasons?
Although yes. Many doubted the champions would be able to play again this season. Many anticipated a drop in results and performance, wondering if the lack of transfer activity would come back to haunt the Reds.
A wild day one win over newly promoted Leeds didn’t do much to convince the skeptics either. Where is the depth? they asked later. ‘Why are there no new faces? Has hunger lowered, have levels lowered?
Now they are singing a different tune. Critics of Twitter will have to find something new to complain about. Liverpool, not for the first time, have silenced them well and properly.
The arrival of Thiago Alcántara, confirmed on Friday afternoon, changes the rules of the game; a world-class midfielder added to a world-class soccer team.
With a starting fee of just £ 20 million ($ 26 million), your purchase is both a bargain and a statement. He could be the oldest and most pedigree player the club has signed.
Liverpool also followed. The ink was barely dry on Thiago’s four-year contract before news of Diogo Jota’s signing broke.
The Wolves forward signed on the dotted line Saturday, and the Reds agreed to a deal that could cost them up to 45 million pounds ($ 58 million) in due course.
Two issues resolved in the space of 24 hours. Thiago to bring class, poise and vision to midfield, Jota providing threat, dynamism and versatility in attack areas, someone to push and cover for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Suddenly ‘where is the depth?’ has become ‘look at the depth!’ The Liverpool team, with Kostas Tsimikas bought in early summer to replace Andy Robertson on the left-back, looks stronger than ever, even if greedy fans wanted to see a central defender added before the transfer deadline. You will never please everyone.
objective , for what it’s worth, understand that there are unlikely to be any more additions in this window. The focus will now be on trimming the equipment. Rhian Brewster, Harry Wilson, Marko Grujic and Loris Karius are the most likely exits of the first team group.
So with Friday and Saturday settled, business done and the fan base ecstatic, it was time for the most annoying of distractions: a soccer game.
A big one too. Chelsea away. Motivated opposition with a point to prove and some new faces of their own. Another test for the team that everyone wants to beat.
It turned out that he passed another test. The victory at Stamford Bridge came with a bit to spare for Klopp’s team, who were dominating even before Andreas Christensen’s red card.
With a man advantage, and with Thiago called up from the bench for his debut, Liverpool asserted its superiority.
Their 2-0 win could, and should, have been more complete, even if they owed their clean sheet to Jorginho’s Alisson Becker penalty save, as they continue to nervously await news of Jordan Henderson’s thigh problem.
Klopp was happy enough, unsurprisingly. “We had a lot of good weeks in the past,” he said afterward. “And this was good too. I get it.”
He will also look forward to some more. With Thiago and Jota on board, with Salah and Mane looking sharp and with the brilliant Fabinho proving that he can alleviate any concerns from the center-back, Liverpool look even stronger now than they did a year ago. And how terrifying to think about it, given that they have won 27 of their first 29 league games.
We can expect rotation this week, with League One’s Lincoln City waiting in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Expect to see Tsimikas and probably Jota in that tie, along with the likes of Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino, Neco Williams, and Curtis Jones.
After that, another big problem, with Arsenal heading to Merseyside for a heavyweight clash on Monday.
The Gunners have traditionally suffered at Anfield, having conceded 30 goals in their last eight visits across all competitions, but have started the season with two wins out of two, and they look like a much more robust and organized team under Mikel Arteta.
This week, however, they will face the final exam. The best of Liverpool may still be to come.
