Liverpool is in a good place going into the second international break of the year.
After eight games, the Reds are only three points behind the leaders in fourth position with 17 points.
But who has distinguished themselves so far in this campaign?
With the exception of two PMGOL apologies and some extremely terrible officiating, the Reds have enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2023–24 season.
Liverpool has already defeated teams like West Ham, Newcastle, and Aston Villa this season in addition to avoiding defeat on the road against Brighton, Newcastle, and Chelsea.
Overall, Liverpool has started this league season strong, and the same can be said for cup competitions, showing that they are determined to make up for last season’s setback.
So, as we approach the October break, who has been Liverpool’s standout performer?
5) LUIS DIAZ
Fans embraced Diaz’s brilliant play style as soon as he joined the team, and the winger’s long-term injury, which caused him to miss 31 games, was undoubtedly a major reason why the Reds underperformed in all competitions last season.
The Colombian has been totally healthy, refreshed, and prepared to cause issues this season, though.
Although he has only contributed three goals and one assist to Liverpool’s offence so far, rotation is a constant because of the team’s abundance of offensive alternatives.
The 26-year-old has only played 683 minutes, or around 7.5 full games, hence he has only contributed to goals on average once every other game.
Additionally, his goal against Bournemouth was a spectacular acrobatic finish in the manner of Diaz, so it counts twice, right?
Additionally, the statistics understate how important Diaz has been to Liverpool’s attack even when he hasn’t participated in scoring directly. He has made a tonne of fantastic attacking runs, has been direct and silky with the ball, and his incorrectly disallowed goal against Tottenham was a thing of absolute beauty.
The idea of the Colombian attacking the defences of the opposition for an entire season is undoubtedly terrifying.
4) DARWIN NUÑEZ
There have undoubtedly been concerns within Liverpool’s fan base regarding the number nine, and his tendency to occasionally miss clear-cut opportunities hasn’t helped.
The underlying stats Nuez receives each game, especially for a player who is so frequently switched in Liverpool’s forward line, are alarming.
Despite hardly playing five full games (471 minutes to be exact), the striker has recorded three assists in addition to four goals in all competitions this season. That is a significant accomplishment.
If there were another team besides the Reds that could attest to the Uruguayan’s influence, it would be Newcastle United.
With only ten minutes remaining, he was brought on as a substitute for a Liverpool team that was trailing by a goal and a man. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on him to perform.
But he did deliver. With two incredible finishes into the bottom left corner, he not only saved the team a point but all three, much to the delight of the Liverpool away fans. Newcastle was in disbelief.
Simply put, when Nuez plays, he creates an absurd number of chances. He needs to get much better at converting the simple ones, but the quality is there, and his play for Liverpool this season has been, to put it mildly, at a higher level.
He should be a fan fave, after all.
3) ALISSON BECKER
Alisson is so good that you could argue he shouldn’t be anywhere other than first, but given how well Liverpool has played over the past eight games, a difficult choice had to be made.
The majority of rational football fans would concur that the Brazilian custodian, who has been the greatest in the world for a number of years, is the finest in the world. At times, it seems like he saves Liverpool 20 points a year.
He had the bravery to go one step further and break it again against Tottenham (8) after breaking his previous record of seven saves in a Premier League game this season against Newcastle.
The fact that Liverpool played with 10 men in both of those matches—or with nine men for 25 minutes in the Tottenham match—shows just how much of a job Alisson had between the pipes, and this only accounts for half of the games this season in which the Reds have been sent off.
The amazing save to save Miguel Almiron’s well-hit volley that earned the August Premier League Save of the Month comes to mind, but there are so many more. Having the 31-year-old in goal sometimes genuinely seems like a cheat code, especially when a huge portion of his saves are absolute worldies.
The Reds have had a solid start to the season, but you have to wonder how much worse off they would be in terms of points if they didn’t have the finest custodian in the world on their side.
2) MOHAMED SALAH
Every season, we say the same thing about Salah, and to be honest, we’ve run out of compliments. He’s a joke, really.
The Egyptian King has five goals and four assists in just eight games in the Premier League. He has already participated in more games and contributed to more goals than any other player in the league. The bar is he.
Not to mention his goal in the Europa League against LASK, which he scored while playing only 16 minutes.
Rotation is important now that Liverpool’s offence is strong, therefore most of the attackers have seen their playing time cut, which has decreased their chances to contribute to goals.
Salah is not. When played closest to the goal, he scores; when played wider to make room for players like Nuez, he assists. The winger will be remembered as one of football’s most productive, inventive, and unquestionably indispensable players in history.
The sky is the limit for what Klopp’s team can accomplish this season with Liverpool’s talisman performing at the top of his game and the rest of the group hitting all the right notes.
1) DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI
It was difficult to choose the best player at Liverpool so far this season, but any man who can stand out among Salah’s outstanding attacking play and Alisson’s outstanding goalkeeping must be doing something right.
Reds supporters have been pleading for an attacking threat in the midfield for years. Last season, it became painfully clear that Liverpool desperately needed the promised midfield rebuild, and that was even before players like Jordan Henderson, James Milner, and Fabinho left.
Since joining the team as part of “Liverpool Reloaded,” Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Wataru Endo have all impressed in their own right. However, Dominik Szoboszlai stands out by a wide margin.
The Hungarian skipper possesses all of it, from speed and energy to deadly passes and deadball brilliance.
Not to add that he has already scored two goals for Liverpool, both of which were absolutely thunderous.
The impact Szoboszlai has had on the squad in such a short period of time is crucial, and he has blended in with his teammates like he’s been wearing a Reds shirt his entire life. He may not have as many goals as Salah or as many points saved as Alisson, but he has had a significant impact on the team nonetheless.
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