<a href="https://www.archyde.com/man-city-and-chelsea-on-their-way-to-a-new-all-british-final/" title="Man City and Chelsea on their way to a new all-British final”>Liverpool v Man City dominates the Mailbox as Reds fans want to know if they have faced a Proper Team yet. Phil Foden gets a kicking.
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Arne Slot is the Winning One
No one rated Liverpool at the beginning of the season. Slot was relatively unknown and Klopp was a force of nature, coupled with the fact there were no major acquisitions. Yet they keep on winning.
The disbelief even caused the Will Ford Trollbot to hyperventilate. But whatever is thrown at this Liverpool side, they seem to overcome it, apart from one blip. A blip, incidentally, to a team in the top 6 at the moment.
They were sublime against City. The first 20 minutes were as manic as at any time under Klopp. But this version of Liverpool has the ability to control the game. To the point they look comfortable defending a one goal lead against teams like City or Real Madrid. (For all the Real Madrid are nowhere near as good this year, they are one point off the top of La Liga with a game in hand. City’s bench had Grealish, Doku, De Bruyne.)
But Liverpool started well last year, only to run out of steam playing the Klopp high intensity way and the many injuries eventually taking their toll. So perhaps not such a surprise that the same side, with more time playing together under a clearly smart manager. A manager who is showing them how to control the game, calm things down when necessary and making small, astute in-game tactical tweaks and substitutions to manage individuals load.
The current Liverpool team are a great combination of skill and effort. Everyone playing their part. Everyone putting in a shift. Movement, passing, aggression when needed.
To win big games requires taking some risks. It requires confidence to take risks and Liverpool have that right now while City and Real Madrid mid-week did not.
After the ‘not a good team as everyone they play is shite’ narrative gets tired, we move to the ‘management are shite as they haven’t re-signed three players’ narrative, with no credit for picking the right manager.
I read on BBC where one City fan claimed a ‘moral’ victory because Liverpool didn’t put 4 or 5 past a ‘weakened’ City side. Which says more about City fans being so inured to City’s transgressions and 115 EPL charges, they can claim a moral high ground.
Arsenal were once again sumptuous and remorseless and are clearly the more likely challenger to Liverpool than City. Odegaard definitely makes a huge difference to that team.
Chelsea may also be showing their gamble might pay off as they continue to put a string of results together and sort out their best 15 from the 400+ available.
It will be an interesting Premier League race if we have 4 teams vying for the title and none of them are City.
Paul McDevitt
Why can’t Liverpool destroy anybody?
“Apart from dismantling Man Utd, a paper tiger of a football club, we’ve yet to win in this league convincingly,” said my brain
What specific evidence suggests that Liverpool are more tactically flexible and resilient compared to last season?
## Is This Liverpool’s Year? A Chat with Football Analyst John Smith
**Host:** Welcome back to the show, John. Liverpool’s win against Man City has sent shockwaves through the Premier League. Is this the real deal, or are they just riding a wave of early-season form?
**John:** It’s hard to say definitively this early in the season, but there’s definitely something different about this Liverpool side. They’ve adapted to Arne Slot’s tactics seamlessly. As the Mailbox contributor pointed out [[1](https://www.football365.com/)], no one expected much from Liverpool at the start of the season, especially given the lack of major signings. Yet, they just keep winning.
**Host:** So, what’s changed then? Klopp always had a high intensity, attack-minded approach.
**John:** Exactly. This team seems to have that same intensity, but there’s a newfound control to their game. They can dominate possession and look comfortable defending a lead, even against strong teams like City. Think about it – Liverpool’s bench is relatively thin compared to City’s, which had the likes of Grealish, Doku, and De Bruyne!
**Host:** There was some skepticism last year about how sustainable that kind of high-pressure football would be, especially given the injury crisis they faced.
**John:** Absolutely. It’s a valid concern, and we’ll have to see how they hold up throughout the season. But so far, they’ve shown resilience and tactical flexibility. The first 20 minutes against City were classic Klopp, sheer manic energy, but they managed to settle into a controlled game afterwards.
**Host:** It’s certainly exciting to see a new contender emerge. What do you think the future holds for Liverpool?
**John:** Only time will tell. But if they can maintain this form and avoid major injuries, they have every chance of challenging for the title this year.