Liverpool’s three key players at the start of the 2018/19 season

Liverpool have got off to the perfect start in the 2018/19 Premier League season, registering four wins from four, including two tough, gritty away wins at Palace and Leicester respectively. While there is no one in the squad who has had a particularly poor start to the season, some have stood out from the others in the first four games. Whether it’s the rock solid defence which has conceded only once in the first four, or it’s the free flowing attack which has been firing well despite not even being at their best, Klopp’s men have got off to a strong start. Here are the three star performers from the start of the season.Virgil van Dijk –
The Reds £75m January signing is certainly living up to, or even succeeding, expectations. He’s had a stellar start to the season, with his leadership in defence meaning the Reds have only conceded once in their opening four games. Despite West Ham’s limited threat in attack, Virgil dealt with it perfectly in a comfortable game for the defence. Then came Crystal Palace and the challenge of Christian Benteke. It didn’t phase the Dutchman though, with a Man of the Match performance coming in a tough 90 minutes for the Liverpool defence. Another strong performance against a resolute Brighton side followed that. After conceding their first goal of the season against Leicester to put the Reds only 2-1, Van Dijk and co didn’t let them through again, with every duel being won by the former Southampton man at the end of the game to carry the side to victory.

Joe Gomez –
Next up is Virgil’s young, athletic central defensive partner Joe Gomez, who is taking the chance given to him by a combination of hard work and an injury to Dejan Lovren. He has played as if he has been in the side for years. The former Charlton man has everything that you would want in a defender: quick, athletic, strong, tall, and a great reader of the game. After, as previously mentioned, a comfortable game against West Ham, there were bigger tests to come for Joe. He, alongside van Dijk, put in an excellent performance against the pace and directness of Wilfried Zaha and the height and strength of Christian Benteke. He put in a few excellent challenges with such authority to make him seem an experienced veteran. Then came another great performance against Brighton who, despite their defensive approach, did get at Liverpool’s defence from time to time and the young defender dealt with it with aplomb. Then came his best performance of the four in a very tough test against the pace of Demarai Gray against Leicester. He made a simply unbelievable challenge to deny Maddison an equaliser for Leicester. That won Liverpool the game. A Man of the Match performance from the defender just before the international break.

Sadio Mane –
The most obvious one of them all, Sadio Mané was arguably not only the Liverpool player of the month, but the Premier League player of the month. The winner of the PFA Player of the Month, Sadio Mané’s four goals in four games at the start of the season has shown that the Senegal star is a consistent quick starter every season, and has been in every season for Liverpool. Two goals on the opening day against a porous West Ham side was the perfect side, and it was followed by a late goal to confirm the win at Selhurst Park. After not scoring at Anfield against Brighton, Mané was determined to get on the scoresheet at the King Power, and he did so, slotting in Andy Robertson’s cross after a deflection. After Mo Salah stealing the limelight last season, it’s easy to forget Mané’s world class 20-goal season. He’s already on course to smash that tally this season, and his brilliant start is very promising for Jürgen Klopp in his search for his first trophy on Merseyside.

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Source: anfieldhq.com