Arne Slot will be delighted with Liverpool's start to the Premier League, but he will already be versed in the perils of England's top flight and the seemingly insurmountable task in deposing supreme rulers Manchester City.
The Merseysiders put Manchester United away with dispatch before the September international break but now gear up for a gruelling chapter of action, playing five fixtures in a two-week period.
14/09/2024
Nott'm Forest (H)
Premier League
17/09/2024
AC Milan (A)
Champions League
21/09/2024
Bournemouth (H)
Premier League
25/09/2024
West Ham (H)
Carabao Cup
28/09/2024
Wolves (A)
Premier League
Slot has made minimal changes to his starting lineup thus far, but there are plenty eager to make their mark. However, the form of Mohamed Salah and co present a headache for Slot, though a welcome one, such is Liverpool's depth and rounded quality.
Salah's been the main man; Luis Diaz has been in potent form and Trent Alexander-Arnold… well, he's just Trent, isn't he? But let's not forget about Dominik Szoboszlai, who has put his poor form before the summer firmly in the past.
Dominik Szoboszlai's form under Arne Slot
Szoboszlai impressed for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool last season after signing from RB Leipzig in a £60m deal, but he ebbed and flowed and finished the campaign on a lower patch of form.
Klopp had shoehorned him into a more industrious midfield role than he perhaps envisaged, whereas Slot is playing the Hungary captain in a looser, more mobile role at number ten, unshackling his creative energy.
Once hailed as a "generational talent" by journalist Marcel Moeller, Szoboszlai is still only 23 and starting to go from strength to strength, having made an emphatic start to the present term.
Matches (starts)
33 (25)
3 (3)
Goals
3
0
Assists
2
1
Shots (on target)*
1.8 (0.5)
1.7 (0.0)
Touches*
57.5
63.7
Pass completion
87%
93%
Key passes*
1.7
2.7
Dribbles*
0.7
0.3
Ball recoveries*
5.2
6.3
Tackles + interceptions*
1.5
1.3
Total duels won*
2.5 (42%)
2.0 (46%)
There's a long season ahead for the talented player, but Slot has found the formula to bring him out of his shell and he looks like a core part of the usual starting lineup. However, he must have sufficient support.
Harvey Elliott is, of course, waiting in the wings, but the 21-year-old is probably at his best in the half spaces between the centre and the right flank, where he can unleash his ball-playing quality into the danger area or shift forward and strike on goal himself.
Liverpool had a rising star who might have been the perfect understudy, but then Fabio Carvalho was sold in August after Richard Hughes received an offer he just couldn't refuse.
Liverpool may rue selling Fabio Carvalho
Carvalho made an excellent start to life on Merseyside but fizzled out during a testing 2022/23 campaign for the Anfield side, with Klopp limiting him to a sorry smattering of appearances after the autumnal months.
Liverpool rejected a £15m bid from Premier League rivals Southampton in July but were convinced to cash in when Brentford came calling toward the final stretch of the transfer window, with the Bees offering a package rising to £27.5m for the fleet-footed attacking midfielder.
He'd enjoyed a fine pre-season with Slot's side but it's important to remember that Diaz and Cody Gakpo were both absent following international duties and the 22-year-old's chances would have been more intermittent had they returned sooner.
But still. Carvalho is a quality player and he showcased as such during his loan spell with Hull City last year, joining in January and plundering nine goals from just 20 displays, also averaging 2.1 key passes per game, as per Sofascore.
Despite only really featuring across the second half of the campaign – Caravalho endured a miserable stint with RB Leipzig across the first half of the season – he actually proved to outscore Szoboszlai, who bagged seven goals over 45 matches for the Merseysiders.
His kind of playmaking quality and goalscoring prowess would certainly prove to offer some competition for Szoboszlai, and Liverpool might come to regret not having this additional dimension at their chest this year.
After all, he proved his worth against high-calibre opposition during the off-season. During Liverpool's pre-season victory over Arsenal, the Portuguese talent wasn't on the ball at every moment but he made things happen when he was, taking only 21 touches, completing a dribble, winning four duels and proving to be an all-round menace.
After joining from Fulham in a deal worth £5m plus add-ons in 2022, FSG will be delighted at having turned a sizeable profit, and his big-moment aura was felt after scoring a last-gasp winner against Newcastle United at the start of the 2022/23 season.
But Caravalho now plies his trade elsewhere, Of course, you never know what the future holds, but Carvalho – who Hull boss Liam Rosenior described as the "perfect number ten" – could have been a real difference-maker this season.
Will it come back to bite Liverpool? Some might feel that an injury to a player like Szoboszlai could cause a panic. Football's unceasing schedule is like a gaping maw, and already players are feeling its force.
Take, for example, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who was injured during international duty with Norway this week. With Declan Rice already suspended for the North London Derby on Sunday, this is a concerning situation for Mikel Arteta.
Of course, Liverpool (and indeed Arsenal) have healthy and ranged squads but all players must pull their weight in this division if Manchester City are truly going to be toppled – all the while seeking to fire on all cylinders and compete in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions.
Carvalho could have been a crucial piece for Slot – but I guess we'll just see how it all pans out.
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