It was only a matter of time before Dominik Szoboszlai addressed the one aspect curiously missing from the hugely impressive start to his Anfield career. Sure enough, 10 minutes before half-time

It was only a matter of time before Dominik Szoboszlai addressed the one aspect curiously missing from the hugely impressive start to his Anfield career.

Sure enough, 10 minutes before half-time with the Reds looking to build on the momentum of Diogo Jota’s opener, Szoboszlai delivered in trademark decisive fashion.

Accepting a pass from Jota, the Liverpool midfielder fed wide to Mohamed Salah and then burst into the area for the return pass before pulling the ball back from the byline for Darwin Nunez to score.

Remarkably, it was Szoboszlai’s first direct assist in a competitive match since arriving at Liverpool in the summer, hardly representative of the impact he has made on the Reds’ attacking efforts and tempo.

 

He didn’t have to wait long for his second, although it was somewhat unintended as Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner, miles out of his area, made a pig’s ear of dealing with the Hungarian’s no-nonsense clearance and allowed Salah to become only the third player in Liverpool’s history to score in the opening five home games of a campaign.

 

Szoboszlai’s engine meant he was running just as intently in the last minute as the first, an ever-present in the Premier League. Just 10 games into his top-flight career, the 23-year-old has already made himself indispensable.

Matters haven’t been quite so straightforward for every summer arrival. There is, though, a growing confidence Alexis Mac Allister is adapting not only to life at Liverpool, but also his unexpected role in the team.

 

An impressive showing against a limited but robust Nottingham Forest strengthened that claim, not least when coping with the physical nature of playing as the number six.

 

While the Argentine never appears truly at ease in the unaccustomed role, here his tenacity was a significant strength, best epitomised when dispossessing Murillo to initiate Liverpool’s counter-attack for the first goal by sending Salah scurrying away.

 

 

It wasn’t too dissimilar to his contribution last weekend in creating the Reds’ game-clinching second in the derby win over Everton, a glimpse of the accuracy and vision of passing that will benefit Liverpool once Mac Allister is employed further upfield.

 

Another booking, however, means he is only one shy of picking up a Premier League suspension, an absence Klopp can ill afford any time soon.

 

At least Wataru Endo, the defensive midfielder in waiting, was handed further top-flight minutes late on while Ryan Gravenberch and second-half replacement Harvey Elliott both put in worthwhile shifts.

Listen to the noise coming out of Holland and it would easy to believe Virgil van Dijk is finished. Thankfully for Liverpool, such nonsense couldn’t be further from the truth.

Having been excellent in the defeat of Everton the previous weekend, Van Dijk once again shone against an admittedly powder-puff Forest attacking threat that managed to force only one save from Alisson Becker – and even that was in the closing moments.

Van Dijk is beginning to adjust to entering the latter stages of his career, recalibrating defensive movements while mindful his pace is, understandably, not quite that of when he was younger.

And it allowed Liverpool to keep back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time this season. Indeed, for a defence that continues to be questioned, only Arsenal and Manchester City have leaked fewer than the nine the Reds have conceded in 10 games.

An eighth successive Anfield win in all competitions this campaign has allowed Klopp’s side to keep pace with those two clubs, along with early leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

More intriguing, though, are the gaps opening up to Newcastle United, Manchester United and Chelsea, who stand six, eight and 11 points behind Liverpool respectively. The Reds know from last season that such differences are not easy to make up.