Arne Slot marked his first home match as Liverpool manager with a 2-0 victory over Brentford, thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah on Sunday.
The Reds are now among Manchester City, Arsenal, and Brighton as the only teams with maximum points from the first two games of the Premier League season.
However, Arne Slot faces tougher challenges ahead in his mission to succeed Jurgen Klopp, starting with a visit to Manchester United next weekend.
The early signs are promising for the Dutchman, as his team has yet to concede and displayed an impressive array of attacking options, led by Salah.
“Most players are quite familiar with what we want because it’s not too different from what Jurgen did in the past,” said Slot, reflecting on the progress made after an opening weekend win at Ipswich.
“We still have much to prove against teams that could finish in the top six.”
Slot is expected to introduce a more possession-focused style than the one Klopp employed during his nearly nine-year tenure.
Liverpool’s opener, however, was classic Klopp-style play. Following a Brentford corner, Salah launched a quick counterattack, setting up Diogo Jota, who perfectly timed his pass for Diaz to burst through and score with a top-corner finish in the 13th minute.
After that, glimpses of the football Slot aims to implement were seen only sporadically in the first half.
Brentford, missing Ivan Toney, who is likely to leave the club before Friday’s transfer deadline, still posed a threat despite the absence of their star striker and should have equalized 10 minutes into the second half.
Nathan Collins connected with Mathias Jensen’s inviting cross with a powerful header, but Alisson Becker made a stunning save to keep it out.
That close call jolted Liverpool into action early in the second half.
Moments later, Collins made a crucial block to prevent Jota from converting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low cross.
Vitaly Janelt was next to intervene, getting a crucial touch to stop Salah from finishing off a slick team move.
Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken then made a brilliant save to push Diaz’s powerful strike behind.
As so often happens, it was Salah who stepped up to deliver the clinical finish that secured the three points for Liverpool.
This time, the impressive Diaz provided the assist, with Salah perfectly timing his run to stay onside before delicately chipping the ball over Flekken.
“In the first half, the other team has more energy, but in the second half, gaps eventually start to appear,” said Slot. “By the end, Brentford didn’t have the legs to keep up with us.”
Slot was serenaded in the closing moments by the 60,000-strong crowd chanting his name—just as they had been instructed to do by Klopp during his farewell in May.
For much of last season, Liverpool seemed poised to give Klopp a triumphant send-off as they competed with City and Arsenal for the title, only to fall short in the final weeks.
There has been considerable frustration among Liverpool fans over the lack of new signings as the transfer window nears its close. However, the current squad still appears best positioned to challenge City and Arsenal again, should there be another three-way race for the title.
