Liverpool go into the international break with four wins from their last five games, three consecutive Premier League clean sheets and, perhaps most importantly, the beginnings of a pattern.
That matters to me more than simply looking at results.
When Andoni Iraola arrived, so much of the conversation naturally centred on what Liverpool might become going forward. Bradley Barcola and Victor Muñoz had arrived, Alexander Isak was fit again and Iraola had built a reputation for aggressive, attractive football.
Five Premier League games into the season, the most striking development has actually been at the other end of the pitch.
Liverpool conceded twice against Newcastle and twice against Nottingham Forest in their opening two league games. Since then, Ipswich, Fulham and Bournemouth have all failed to score.
That 1-0 win at Bournemouth was particularly significant. It was their first home defeat since January 3, and Liverpool went somewhere that has become extremely difficult for visiting teams and physically dominated the contest.
That feels important because this was a type of Liverpool performance we rarely saw last season.
Defensive Numbers Point Towards Something Repeatable
I always think statistics become most interesting when they identify a trend rather than simply describe a result.
Expected goals is a good example. xG is not perfect. A player can run clean through, fail to get a shot away and register no xG at all. An air shot produces the same problem. It should never be treated as an infallible measurement of what happened.
What it can do extremely well is identify patterns.
Liverpool have allowed 0.75 xG against Ipswich, 0.70 against Fulham and 0.76 against Bournemouth. Three matches is a small sample, but the consistency is striking.
More importantly, watching those games has produced the same feeling.
How many genuinely dangerous Bournemouth moments were there? Alisson made one particularly good save in the first half, but I never felt Liverpool were constantly on the verge of conceding. Fulham barely threatened unless Liverpool presented them with an opportunity, and Ipswich similarly struggled to create anything substantial.
Liverpool have now kept three successive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since September 2024.
There is another statistic that puts the improvement into perspective. Before this sequence of four wins from five matches, Liverpool had won only four of their previous 16.
That is why I find the repeatability so encouraging.
Early last season, Liverpool were winning matches while some of the underlying numbers were less convincing. This time, there is something tangible beneath the results.
Bournemouth actually put 27 crosses into the box, compared with Liverpool’s 13. They got into Liverpool territory and recorded plenty of touches around the penalty area. Yet Liverpool still restricted them to 0.76 xG.
Territory only matters if you can turn it into danger.
Jacquet, Van Dijk and Araujo Have Built a Wall
The numbers produced by Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk and Ronald Araujo are extraordinary.
Against Bournemouth, the trio won 17 of their 22 duels and 11 of 14 aerial duels. They recovered possession 14 times and made 16 clearances, with Van Dijk responsible for 12 of those.
Expand the sample across Liverpool’s last three clean sheets and they have collectively won 48 of 67 duels, a success rate of 71.6 per cent. In the air, they have won 28 of 37, which works out at 75.7 per cent.
That is dominance.
Sam Maguire has often spoken about 70 per cent being the point at which a player can be considered genuinely aerially dominant. Liverpool currently have three defenders operating around that territory collectively.
Araujo’s role at right back is interesting within that. At Barcelona his duel success was around the mid 60s in his final couple of seasons, but playing at right back can put him into physical contests with wingers rather than centre forwards. His size and strength give Liverpool another enormous presence when defending crosses and set pieces.
Jacquet, Van Dijk and Araujo want to win their battles. Three quarters of the time in the air recently, they have.
Alisson deserves inclusion in this conversation too. His save against Bournemouth mattered and his ability to come and claim crosses remains a major part of Liverpool’s security. Milos Kerkez also defended well at Bournemouth, even if his duel numbers are understandably not comparable with three enormous defenders.
This is becoming Liverpool’s foundation.
Cody Gakpo Has Responded in Exactly the Right Way
Liverpool’s attacking football remains a work in progress, but Cody Gakpo deserves real credit.
Against Bournemouth he created three chances, completed two dribbles and won nine duels. That final number stood out to me because it tells us something about his willingness to work without the ball.
Gakpo was linked with a move away, yet he never demanded one or stopped working. Even while the transfer window remained open, he scored against Newcastle and assisted Isak against Nottingham Forest.
He has continued from there.
Gakpo has four assists in all competitions already this season. He managed six across the whole of last season.
His work for Liverpool’s goal at Bournemouth summed up what he is currently giving the team. There appeared to be very little available down the right, but he took on his opponent, drove forward and put the ball into the penalty area. Florian Wirtz had the initial shot blocked and Isak finished the loose ball.
Gakpo receives neither the assist nor the glamour attached to the goal, but he helped create it.
There have been several important moments from that side already. His involvement against Forest came from the right, while his goal at Newcastle also developed from that area.
That is significant because the left remains his more natural position.
For all the criticism he received last season, we should remember that he had scored 34 goals across the previous two campaigns, an average of 17 per season in all competitions, largely while operating as a winger.
Right now, if Liverpool had to play a Champions League final tomorrow, Gakpo would be in my strongest XI.
That tells you how well he has responded.
Alexander Isak Is Getting Chances Where Liverpool Need Him
Alexander Isak provides another encouraging attacking trend.
He has already scored four Premier League goals this season, one more than the three he managed throughout last season.
The underlying figures explain why.
In 2025/26, Isak accumulated 2.60 xG from 703 league minutes. This season he has already reached 3.54 from 415 minutes.
He had 17 shots last season. He already has 15 this time. His seven big chances have almost been matched by five this season, while 30 touches in the opposition penalty area have become 23 despite playing barely more than half as many minutes.
His shot conversion has consequently risen from 17.6 per cent to 26.7 per cent.
He is getting better opportunities.
The Bournemouth goal was exactly the sort of chance I want Liverpool creating for him. Gakpo does the work, Wirtz’s blocked effort drops inside the penalty area and Isak finishes.
Sometimes analysing a striker can become unnecessarily complicated.
Nobody spends much time worrying about Erling Haaland’s underlying involvement when he keeps scoring. Isak is capable of doing more. We saw at Newcastle that he can bully defenders, dribble, link play and contribute to a pressing team.
He is also adapting to new players and a new system after an injury disrupted campaign last season.
For now, get him into the box.
The per 90 figures make the development even clearer.
Isak has gone from 0.38 goals per 90 last season to 0.87 this season. His xG has risen from 0.33 to 0.77, shots from 2.2 to 3.3, big chances from 0.9 to 1.1 and opposition box touches from 3.8 to 5.0.
I do not expect 0.77 xG per 90 to continue across an entire season. The sample is far too small for that. If Isak eventually settles somewhere around 0.6, that would still represent an excellent level and give him a strong platform to reach 20 Premier League goals.
Anything beyond that and the possibilities become obvious.
Liverpool now have a fascinating set of tests waiting after the international break. Their next four league opponents currently occupy the top four positions, with Manchester City first up at Anfield. City and Brighton are also the division’s two highest scoring teams at this stage.
We are therefore going to learn much more about this Liverpool defence.
For now, though, I see reasons for encouragement.
Liverpool have a defensive wall developing around Jacquet, Van Dijk, Araujo and Alisson. Gakpo looks revitalised, productive and willing to do the physical work Iraola demands. Isak is receiving more shots, more big chances and more touches inside the opposition penalty area.
Going forward, everything is not yet perfectly in tune.
The foundations, though, are becoming visible.
Keep the xG conceded low, keep winning those defensive battles and keep getting the ball to Alexander Isak inside the box.
Those numbers are starting to tell a compelling story.