Liverpool verdict: Title rivals already under pressure after champions beat irritating Arsenal

The Premier League season may have just three games for Liverpool, but they haven’t wasted time throwing the gauntlet.

While the rest of last season’s top four have already lost 11 points to each other, the rock-solid reds have sailed to the top in ominous fashion for their rivals.

Goal difference alone keeps them out of where they did their last period and it may not be long before they return to those comforts given how they started this time.

Their latest triumph, this 3-1 win at home to Arsenal, capped off a near-perfect weeks of football for the English champions in their quest to get their names back on the trophy.

Jurgen Klopp will be very pleased to learn that a difficult September, one in which his team began their title defense against Leeds, Chelsea and Arsenal, has been safely traded with maximum points on the board.

At a time when Liverpool’s rivals are struggling to get out of first gear, the momentum to the top of the table is starting to pick up pace for the champions England, who placed second behind Leicester City.

Consistency will be key to ensuring that the title remains in Anfield’s trophy cabinet and three wins out of three have already put pressure on those who chase.

The Premier League season may be less than a month old, but this encounter with the Londoners felt bigger than perhaps it should have been given the rift that could open up on a Manchester City side that many are still leaning towards challenging more. up close to the champions this season. .

Given their surprise beating at home to Leicester on Sunday, City are now six behind the Reds. A game in hand will counter that fact, but any manager would rather have the points on the board.

Few have surpassed Klopp’s Liverpool in recent seasons, but Mikel Arteta’s early days at Arsenal had yielded impressive results before this well-deserved defeat.

A 2-1 win in July at the Emirates was followed by a penalty shootout win at the Community Shield in August and, unlike Arsene Wenger’s later years or Unai Emery’s unfortunate tenure with the Gunners, Arteta foresight The shootout with the Reds has seen them emerge successfully.

So while Arteta might feel like he had cracked the code, this trip to Anfield would always put his most organized tactical plan to the test.

And so it turned out as a largely comfortable victory that extended a flawless start to the campaign for Liverpool and removed that irritating itch caused by the Gunners in the process.

Rumors and reports Thiago Alcantara and Alisson Becker dominated pre-game preparation until this and at a time when Klopp is already without Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and captain Jordan Henderson, the additional absences were far from ideal.

It was a case of good news and bad news when the team’s chips fell at 7pm.

Alisson was in a position to take his place in goal, but the new £ 25 million man Thiago was completely lost. A return after the international break has been scheduled for the Spanish international.

There was more welcome news when Joe Gomez returned as a central defender to further carry Fabinho to his natural role as the Premier League’s best defensive midfielder.

Liverpool started the brighter of the two sides and nearly went ahead when a well-punched effort from Trent Alexander-Arnold from 25 yards hit Hector Bellerin before bouncing off the bar.

Do you want more reaction? Watch the post-game podcast HERE

Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane forced Bernd Leno to make a couple of saves as the hosts turned in style at times.

Yet despite their territorial dominance, the Reds were left behind in strange circumstances when Alexandre Lacazette made the most of a mistake by the excellent Robertson to convert the most undeserved of starters for Arsenal.

Perhaps fueled by injustice, Liverpool had parity three minutes later when Mane swooped in to hit the home run after Leno’s save fell gently.

And if that goal made the Reds bench happy, his second will certainly make him happy, as Robertson came to the end of a cross from teammate Alexander-Arnold to score.

“The goal of our dream team is for Trent to pass and Robbo to score,” assistant chief Pep Linders once said of influential wingers. It was a dream that came true for him when they combined against Red Bull Salzburg almost a year ago.

And the most complete set of full backs in today’s game came together once again to give his side the upper hand as Robertson ghosted into the box to fulfill Alexander-Arnold’s impressive delivery.

With twenty-five assists between them last season, the pair have collectively helped redefine how teams attempt to use their full-backs, with contributions from left and right backs more important than ever.

However, Liverpool have the standard bearers for this particular advancement of the modern Premier League game, and they proved it here as they helped turn the tide after an unfair opening match by Lacazette.

After the break, Arsenal had a great opportunity to reestablish parity when Lacazette passed clean. The offside flag was kept low and the French international could only shoot straight at Alisson, who expertly got to his feet.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Klopp sent Diogo Jota and James Milner for Naby Keita and Mane and it was an eventful cameo for the new man who could have had a hat-trick.

The 45 million pound Portugal international has a big job to break the famous three forwards after his Wolves move, but this was a lively start that ended on the most perfect notes.

After having the recklessness to shoot the side net after Salah’s brilliance provided it, the Egyptian took it away from his teammate moments later to ruin a glorious opportunity. In the end, Jota settled for the former while doing a spot sealing effort on an empty Kop end later.

Job done for Liverpool. Nine out of nine. The second part will arrive later this week at the Carabao Cup, but this was the one they really wanted.