Every conversation in praise of Arne Slot and Liverpool so far this season comes with an asterisk. A small, annoying ‘but…’ plaguing every argument put forward.
Liverpool have won nine of 10 games so far in the Slot era. They have scored 23 goals and conceded a meagre four, keeping a clean sheet in five of seven league fixtures.
But as the argument goes, they have not played anyone half decent yet. And that is true — they have only faced teams ninth or lower in the Premier League, three of them making up the current bottom four, plus a below-par AC Milan and Bologna in the Champions League.
After the international break, the fixture list makes for anxious reading for Liverpool fans. Chelsea go to Anfield before trips to RB Leipzig, title rivals Arsenal and then Brighton in the Carabao Cup.
The Seagulls then play at Anfield in the league, Xabi Alonso returns to Liverpool with his German champions Bayer Leverkusen before high-flying Aston Villa are in town. No easy games on the horizon.
Liverpool continued their bright start to the season with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace
The Reds have won nine of 10 games so far in the Arne Slot era but will soon face tough tests
Real Madrid and Manchester City are also on the fixture list in the next six weeks before trips to Newcastle and a final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
But while it is fair to point out that tougher tests lie ahead, this should not detract from the praise Slot deserves. Putting this run together while being stalked by the shadow of legendary boss Jurgen Klopp is a remarkable feat.
When the German departed, many observers predicted a drop-off. Gary Neville, for example, tipped Liverpool to finish fifth this season — though he also thought Erik ten Hag would steer Manchester United to third place, so take those bets with a pinch of salt.
The league leaders look completely different from the side Klopp left behind, especially in defence. It would be wrong to say Liverpool’s rearguard was leaky last season but too often they were let down by going 1-0 down and they kept just 10 clean sheets all campaign.
Now, teams are barely having a sniff. They have conceded 0.29 goals per game under Slot, compared to 1.08 last season.
Teams are creating fewer chances and taking fewer shots, with Crystal Palace not testing Alisson until first-half stoppage time on Saturday.
Alisson is expected to miss several matches after limping off at Selhurst Park
Instead of the chaotic or ‘heavy metal’ football, Liverpool are now a team of calmness and patience. After narrowly beating Wolves last weekend, captain Virgil van Dijk spoke to the whole group and ordered them to work on their game management.
Instead of going for broke to get a second goal at Selhurst Park, Liverpool just killed the contest by keeping the ball. Tougher tests do lie ahead — they have just got harder given goalkeeper Alisson is expected to miss several matches after limping off on Saturday — but this new style looks like one that can cause all of the big boys a headache.
For Slot, it is so far, so good.