Liverpool’s 4-0 demolition job of West Ham United was an impressive opening display considering we had a couple of new boys starting the match and had a few who had participated in the World Cup.
There was an air of confidence at Anfield, especially since we managed to retain our main players from the previous season.
The team did a great job of attacking West Ham from the first whistle. A section of the fans voiced their opinions about the game, as per Liverpool Echo, and most of it was positive.
Michael Atherton had high praise for Naby Keita as the Liverpool supporter claimed the Guinea midfielder was a cross of two stars.
“Keita is like a mix between Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane but also possesses the ability to tackle. He looks like an outstanding player, a magician who could provide the creativity we lacked from midfield in some games last season.”
Jimmy Pilnick highlighted that Liverpool did not settle for “second best” when it comes to signing players and that our spine looks stronger with Alisson Becker, Keita and Fabinho.
This certainly holds true as we waited to sign Virgil van Dijk till the January window last season. And the Dutch defender has made us a better unit at the back. Keita, too, was signed a year in advance though he remained on loan at RB Leipzig before he became a Red.
Another fan, Mark Baker, believed that Liverpool’s season would depend on two players trying to do something tricky in the attack.
“The ability to drop the shoulder and strike from range (set-plays included), dissect a defence with a throughball or beat players in tight areas, are all the traits required to better teams within a low block setup.
Liverpool’s season could well hinge on the ability of individuals such as Keita and Shaqiri to offer such threat.”
This certainly was as easy a game for us. Although the Reds were in great touch, it is too early for us to claim that we will win every match convincingly.
Sterner tests lie ahead for the Reds
West Ham are a team in transition with a new manager Manuel Pellegrini taking over. The Chilean also started with a few new players in the side and there is no doubt players such as Felipe Anderson will have better evenings than the one he endured at Anfield.
As some of the fans have rightly pointed out, Keita was a live-wire in the midfield. The 23-year-old midfielder did a lot of running and was involved in most of our attacks.
His link-up play with the team was great to see but he did look a little slow when making the final pass.
James Milner was another player that did an immense job in the midfield. The captain for the day was playing with a bandaged head due to a pre-season injury but his performance was incredible.
The Englishman did everything right from the go and was barking instructions all across the park. Milner also set up Sadio Mane for our second goal in typical Milner fashion.
A cross from Andy Robertson seemed to be too deep with the entire West Ham defence going to sleep. Milner, somehow, managed the ball in play and find the Senegal man to score an easy tap-in.
Alisson, another player who made his Premier League debut for us, was not tested much but he did have some nervy moments with the ball at his feet.
The Brazilian’s distribution was pretty good and it will be important to see just how well the tactic of finding players from the back goes against some of the tougher sides in the league.
Our back line was barely troubled at Anfield. Joe Gomez did a decent job with Virgil van Dijk, but again, there will be tougher opponents we face in the coming months.
Liverpool barely had to deal with a spell of dominance from the away side and the manner in which we controlled the game right from the off is something we need to ensure in every game.
Jurgen Klopp also did not start with our captain, Jordan Henderson, or new signing Fabinho against the Hammers. The duo should be a part of our starting XI and this just goes to show how smartly we have invested in the transfer market.
Xherdan Shaqiri and Daniel Sturridge were called off the bench. When was the last time we could actually call in quality attackers as substitutes?
The pair will have a huge role to play in games where we need an X-Factor off the bench and they did a decent job against a tired Hammers side.
While Klopp should be pleased with what he has seen, we cannot start celebrating trophies and success already.
The season is a long one and we have been in similar situations before it all falls apart. Brendan Rodgers in 2014, Rafael Benitez in 2009 and Klopp in three cup finals. Liverpool have been close to glory but have fallen at the last hurdle multiple times.
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What we do have is a quality side, probably one of the strongest ever in our Premier League history. However, a lot of work has to be done before we can think about trophies under Klopp.
