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* Mohamed Salah equalled the Premier League record for the most goal contributions for a single club.
* He had missed his previous eight Opta-defined big chances before opening the scoring.
* This was the first game in which Liverpool only made one substitution since their 3-3 draw at Brentford in 2021.
* Aston Villa had just four shots in the penalty box; only Frankfurt (three) and Burnley (one) have had fewer against the Reds this season.
* Ryan Gravenberch has scored two of Liverpool’s three league goals from outside the box this season. Both were deflected.
I went to Anfield tonight for the first time this season. For the first time in the Arne Slot era, in fact. I got to chant CHAMPIONS at the Champions; what’s not to like?
Liverpool were pretty good to great for much of the match. I set off hoping to see Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz for the first time. Yet the goal scorers were Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch. I hadn’t noticed initially but the starting XI was a 2024/25 sandwich, with a new player at either end of the team.
It all made so much more sense. Playing Andy Robertson gives Virgil van Dijk less to worry about, which in turn helps Ibrahima Konaté. Conor Bradley had comfortably his best game of the campaign, as did Alexis Mac Allister. Maybe Salah too.
Dominik Szoboszlai was man of the match for me, though. All over the place in the best way that the phrase can be taken. Again, Liverpool make more sense when he’s between Salah and Cody Gakpo. It won’t have been coincidence that the pressing was much improved with the Hungarian there. As for Ekitike, some of his flicks and tricks were sublime. Dare I say Firmino-esque? I dare.
It helps that Aston Villa aren’t a good team. I was tempted to state this as a matter of fact in the Top Five Stats. They are just 0.4 expected goals above having the worst attack in the Premier League. Smacking the post aside, they didn’t look like scoring.
If it seems odd that Slot only made one in-game change, it was telling that you could almost see the confidence returning to the side. Maybe the boss wanted his main men to enjoy a league game for the first time in a while. You can’t blame him for that, even with Real Madrid in town this week.
The crowd chanted Slot’s name emphatically. They also sang Bob Marley at the end: Don’t worry about a thing. Every little thing gonna be alright.
And it is. Liverpool might not win the league this season but if they keep playing like this, they’ll be (more than) alright.