Heading into the October international break, Arne Slot had been at pains to repeatedly point out that his Liverpool side’s position at the Premier League summit owed, in part, to a kind opening fixture list.
The visit of Chelsea on Sunday evening represented a stern test for the season’s early pace-setters. They passed with flying colours. The 2-1 victory was not without its nervy moments, as Slot conceded post-game: “In an ideal world we would have completely outplayed them but that was definitely not the case.”
But Liverpool deservedly eked out three points. Here are the key takeaways from the club’s tenth win of the season already.
Even in the dreams he may have had while sleeping his spare room on Saturday night, Curtis Jones could scarcely have conjured a more impressive individual display. The new first-time father, who had relocated in search of some much-needed rest pre-game, was a one-man swarm at Anfield.
Not only tasked with stopping Cole Palmer, arguably the stand-out player of the season thus far, Jones also took it upon himself to canter forward.
Less than three minutes elapsed between Jones’ vital lunge to deny Palmer a clear swipe at goal in Liverpool’s box and Levi Colwill’s rather more reckless tackle on Liverpool’s energetic midfielder inside Chelsea’s area. Mohamed Salah converted the first-half spot kick, but was denied the chance to take a second penalty won by another forward surge from Jones following a VAR review. The Liverpool-born 23-year-old capped off a week to remember with a brilliantly taken finish, cushioning Salah’s cross into his stride before poking it beyond a hesitant Robert Sanchez.
“For a player who wants to play in this team, you’ve got to run, you’ve got to have energy, you’ve got to be all over the pitch,” Jones acknowledged post-game. He certainly fit that demanding brief on Sunday.
This was a display of more grit than glitz for Liverpool. The hosts only had nine shots – they haven’t recorded a lower tally in a top-flight game since drawing 1-1 with Manchester City at the Etihad in November 2023.
In the absence of an overwhelming amount of attacking ingenuity, Slot’s side had to rely upon an increasingly impressive defensive rearguard. “We had to fight really hard to get this one over the line,” the Dutch coach beamed. “We defended so strong through the whole team. There was incredible work rate.”
Jurgen Klopp revelled in his team’s mental fortitude, infamously hailing them as “mentality monsters”. The swift response to Nicolas Jackson’s second-half equaliser – one of only two shots on target which Chelsea could boast – and the composed conclusion to a tough contest showed that the psychological resilience didn’t leave Anfield with Klopp in the summer.
In the summer of 2023, Slot compared himself to Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola. “He is a control freak just like me.” The Dutch coach has routinely cited possession-based sides, including the Catalan’s champions, as the example for his own teams, but he showed a willingness to adapt to the demands of each opponent on Sunday.
Liverpool conceded possession but not position. Many managers of the modern era would have their ego bruised by boasting just 42% of the ball in front of their home crowd, yet Slot used this to his advantage. By allowing Chelsea to assume control, the Reds were perennially poised to spring forward on the counter, searing through their muddled visitors in transition.
That willingness to go from back to front as quickly as possibly got Tosin Adarabioyo in a tangle six minutes into the contest. The Chelsea defender was perhaps fortunate to escape with just a yellow card after tugging Diogo Jota to the turf. It was not the last moment of alarm for Chelsea.
Ryan Gravenberch’s adaptation to life in a new defensively minded role at Liverpool has been sensational. Previously shackled to the final third during his best time at Ajax, the towering 22-year-old has thrived from the base of Liverpool’s midfield.
However, Gravenberch had been helped through the opening two months of the season by having Alexis Mac Allister beside him. A fiercely intelligent player who Klopp once hailed as “a football doctor”, the Argentine World Cup winner was always there to coax and cajole Gravenberch.
For the first time this season, the Dutch midfielder started without his on-pitch tutor. Mac Allister wasn’t missed. Up against a midfield which cost almost £200m, Gravenberch delivered another brilliant blend of distribution and drive while plugging the gaps which Jones vacated.
