Liverpool are sitting nicely at the top of the Premier League table as the second international break of the season gets underway.
The Reds have not been perfect under Arne Slot so far, but they’ve been very much the next best thing.After 10 games in all competitions, Liverpool have won nine and lost one. It hardly gets much better than that.
So far, the Reds relative success has been built on the foundations of a strong defence. With just two goals conceded in seven Premier League matches, Liverpool have been extremely well drilled at the back. That foundation will be tested in the weeks ahead with Alisson Becker set to miss seven games through injury.
But even without Alisson, Gary Neville says that Liverpool’s defence is doing something he hasn’t seen for ‘a long time.’Gary Neville hails Liverpool’s defensive longevityNeville is obviously not one to praise Liverpool especially easily.
The Manchester United legend often takes great delight in the Reds’ failures.Nevertheless, as a real football man, Neville can at least appreciate certain qualities when he sees it.
And speaking on The Overlap on Thursday, the pundit has hailed the longevity of Liverpool’s back five.With the Reds going so well defensively this season, Neville has praised the amount of time Alisson, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk have stayed together for.
That back five to be fair has probably played together more than any other back five for a long time it feels like,” says Neville.
You’ve got Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate and Van Dijk.“Some will say Konate’s not played every game but it feels like that back five with Alisson is quite solid.
Liverpool’s defence set for major surgery?Neville is right, the Liverpool defence has been the bedrock of the team right from the early years of Jurgen Klopp’s time at the club.Obviously, Alexander-Arnold came through the Liverpool academy but only really became a mainstay at right-back during the 2017/18 season.
That was the same time that Robertson and Van Dijk were brought to the club, while Alisson arrived a year later.Konate is the odd one out in that he joined only in 2021. But now in his fourth season at Anfield, the Frenchman still knows his defensive teammates very well indeed.
As impressive as their longevity has been, though, Liverpool’s defence could be set for major surgery this summer. With Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold out of contract and Robertson not far off, too, we could be seeing a ‘last dance’ of the Reds fabled back five.
