It is early days but Liverpool’s pre-season billing as the team to push Manchester City hardest for the Premier League title appears accurate.
Jurgen Klopp’s men won 2-0 at Crystal Palace on Monday night, backing up a 4-0 thrashing of West Ham on the opening weekend of the campaign.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at some of the key reasons the Reds have started the season well.
Finders Keepers
After Loris Karius had a nightmare in the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, the need for a new goalkeeper – which had been evident for some time – became a necessity for Klopp.
The club settled upon Brazil number one Allison Becker, signed for a then-world record fee for a goalkeeper to prise him away from Roma.
Liverpool’s new stopper has not conceded a goal in his first two Premier League game and, while he has not been truly tested, it is clear he is an upgrade on previous options.
Mo of the same
The question is always asked of a player who enjoys a marvellous season – can he do it again, year after year?
Mohamed Salah could never have imagined his first year at Anfield would have yielded 44 goals across all competitions and both the PFA Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year accolades.
While he could not inspire Egypt beyond the group stage of the World Cup, the 26-year-old has returned to Liverpool and picked up where he left off, proving to be the talisman of Klopp’s ever-exciting crop.
A Nab hand
Naby Keita agreed to move to Liverpool a year ago but had to wait almost 12 months to get to the Premier League.
It was certainly worth the wait for the Guinea midfielder, as well as everyone involved with Liverpool.
He has already shown in his first two outings why Klopp was so keen to work with him, his passing ability and perpetual motion feeding straight into Liverpool’s philosophy.
Mane talks
If Salah has started the current season they way he ended the last, then so has Senegal forward Sadio Mane.
The man who scored Liverpool’s equaliser in their European defeat to Real Madrid, the explosiveness of Mane is enough to catch out even the best defences on the continent.
Mane, 26, has already hit three goals in the opening two league games of the season and will remain a key component of any success enjoyed at Anfield this year.
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