Liverpool took a giant step towards their second Premier League title when they swept aside rivals Manchester City.
The 2-0 win, thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, took Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the table and a mammoth 11 points ahead of City.
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In their first season under manager Arne Slot, Liverpool have needed no time to adapt to the new era following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
With 11 wins out of 13 in the Premier League and 18 wins out of 20 games in all competitions, Liverpool have no doubt been the best team in the country this season and possibly all of Europe.
Salah scored his 11th goal of the Premier League season while no side has conceded fewer than Liverpool’s eight thus far.
Speaking after the win against Man City, NBC pundit and former Wimbledon midfielder Robbie Earle highlighted two players who have taken big steps forward under Slot.
The two players were Ryan Gravenberch and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the former especially being described as a ‘new’ player after struggling initially last season before becoming an impressive regular under Slot.
“When Arne Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp, I think we all felt they’d be top six, maybe fourth or fifth,” Earle said.
“And that this guy is going to take some time to move this thing on [from Klopp]. But his individual management of players – Gravenberch is like a new find. Trent Alexander-Arnold is a way better defender under Arne Slot than he ever was with Klopp.
“We’ve seen Curtis Jones come into the team, we’ve seen [Darwin] Nunez take more responsibility, Virgil Van Dijk is back to his very best. Mo Salah, despite the contract [issues], continues to score goals.
“There’s so many good parts that this manager has done. That’s the easiest victory against Man City as in all the time under Jurgen Klopp. Right now, they’re the best balanced team in the Premier League.
“In terms of both ends of the pitch, there’s no one better than this Liverpool team.”
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Meanwhile, fellow NBC pundit Robbie Mustoe highlighted the Liverpool midfield as a whole, again pointing to Gravenberch as a missing link in the continued emergence of Slot’s side.
“I go back to Arne Slot’s words before the game. [He said] they’d have to be perfect in all areas, they’d have to dominate in all areas. That’s what we’ve just seen.
“In the first half, dominant, front foot, high pressing. They created chances with their football, and scored a goal. Second half more on the back foot, strong defensively, knowing they’d get chances on the counter-attack and that’s what they did.
“Mo Salah should have scored earlier. And the most important part of the team performance today was what I think has been the last piece in terms of getting to an exceptional level, the midfield.
“We know the front players have scored tons of goals, defensively great from day one, but the midfield has taken a little time to get its legs. But..Dominic Szoboszlai, the engine that guy’s got. I thought he was phenomenal in the game, as was Gravenberch. The midfield is now becoming another really strong part of this team.”
Nine points clear of Arsenal and Chelsea in second and third place, Liverpool last had a larger lead at the top of the table on the final day of the 2019/20 Premier League season when they won the title by 18 points.
Slot and his side will look to continue their march towards glory when they visit Newcastle United on Wednesday.
