Liverpool strolled to victory over Aston Villa as both long and short-serving players made their mark in the Anfield sunshine.
For supporters, Sunday’s outing against Aston Villa was the most comfortable watch in a long time.
Dominik Szoboszlai, who has already been handpicked as one of the signings of the summer, got the Reds off to a flyer with a stunning left-footed strike, before a Matty Cash own goal really put Liverpool in the driving seat.
Mohamed Salah then put the game beyond doubt in the 55th minute, meaning the Kop could sit back and enjoy the show for the last half hour.
Liverpool were superb for the vast majority of the match and FotMob‘s momentum graphic demonstrated just how in control Jurgen Klopp‘s team were.
Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby were the only Villa players to really cause any problems, and even they were usually dealt with by the calm-but-firm feet of Joe Gomez.
Salah shines under the Arabian Merseyside sun
These days the only player who compares to Salah is, well, Salah; we’re now at a point where he is challenging and breaking his own records.
According to Opta, the Egyptian’s goal against Unai Emery’s side meant he became the first player to score or assist in 10 consecutive Premier League appearances since, you guessed it, himself.
To better his previous best, which he achieved in 2021 when he scored or assisted in 15 consecutive matches, he would need a goal contribution in Liverpool’s next six league fixtures:
• Wolves (A)
• West Ham (H)
• Tottenham (A)
• Brighton (A)
• Everton (H)
• Nott’m Forest (H)
Sunday also saw him score in his 150th different Liverpool match – just the 188 goals in that time!
Trent controls from the back
Wearing the captain’s armband in place of the suspended Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold showed off his wide range of passing vs. Villa.
Slightly unusually, while Liverpool had the ball, the No. 66 played most of the match in in Joel Matip‘s centre-back position, with the former Cameroon international shuffling wide while the Reds held possession.
Despite the deep position, Alexander-Arnold caused countless problems for the Villa backline with his vision.
Trent created five chances on Sunday and played 15 passes into the final third, all while playing in a deeper position – outstanding.
Gomez shows ability on his return
After coming on against Newcastle, Gomez made his first start of the season on Sunday, simultaneously helping Liverpool to their first clean sheet of the campaign, too.
As you can see in the above FotMob graphic, Gomez excelled on his return to the starting XI.
Playing as the left centre-half, he was key to Liverpool’s stability, recovering the ball eight times – more than anyone else on the pitch.
He was also influential in possession, making 103 accurate passes – again, that was more than anybody else.
With Van Dijk out, Gomez showed he can still step up to become a leader, something that is needed given he is now the longest-serving first-team player at the club.
With attributes that suit playing on the right of a back three, too, Gomez could usurp Ibrahima Konate for a regular spot in the team if he continues in the same vein.
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