Leeds 0-3 Liverpool: Fabinho & Salah hint at Liverpool being back to best - Stephen Warnock

[Animous]

I have been waiting a long time for the kind of Liverpool performance we saw in their victory against Leeds United on Sunday.

In terms of results, Jurgen's Klopp's side have made a very positive start to the Premier League season with three wins and a draw, but it is the way they are playing that is the most encouraging sign for me, and this was another hugely impressive display.

Harvey Elliott's serious ankle injury took the shine off a brilliant result at Elland Road, but this was still a reminder of how good Liverpool are when they are at their best.

The high press and Fabinho's key role

Liverpool's approach to the game was to nullify Kalvin Phillips, who is one of Leeds' biggest strengths, by stopping him from getting on the ball.

They did that by having Thiago and Elliott press high along with the front three. It meant that five Liverpool players were in front of most of the Leeds midfielders, and they were not allowing any passes through to them.

From around the 15-minute mark onwards, Leeds just couldn't get out at all. Liverpool kept winning the ball back high up the pitch, and kept the pressure on.

A big reason it worked so well was having Fabinho back in the heart of the Reds midfield, not filling in at the back like he did so often last season.

Having Fabinho sit in front of the back four allows Liverpool to push their other two midfielders on, because he provides such effective cover to his defenders.

In a way, it is like having three centre-halves - and because he is so tall, the opposition cannot dink the ball into their striker. Fabinho could always cut those passes out when Leeds tried to go a little bit longer.

[Silent Watcher]

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