Liverpool heading in the right direction

If only Liverpool could play against the elite clubs every week.

Jurgen Klopp's side were the dominant outfit in their clashes against the big seven last season, doing the double over Arsenal and Everton as well as claiming four points against Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham. They also drew both fixtures with Manchester United.

The only loss to a fellow top-half club came in a kamikaze 4-3 reverse at Bournemouth which was one of just two defeats suffered by the Merseysiders in a strong first half to the season.

Things fell away in the new year with defeats to Swansea and Hull as well as a draw at Sunderland, although Liverpool recovered sufficiently to nail down fourth spot and a place in the Champions League playoff round.

No player managed more than 13 Premier League goals but the first-choice front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho contributed 37 between them with the counter-pressing tactics demanded by Klopp often seeing the Reds dominate games.

Defensive errors played a part in a failed title bid with Liverpool keeping just six clean sheets at Anfield and half of those came in battles against Spurs, City and United.

The next step for Klopp's Liverpool revolution is to get them fighting for the championship and winning trophies and they could get closer this term despite the added burden of European football.

Mohamed Salah's blistering pace adds further depth to the attacking trident and the Egyptian flyer is now a much more rounded individual than the one who failed to make the grade at Chelsea.

Salah, 21 when he joined Chelsea in the January transfer window of 2014, never had the trust of Jose Mourinho and yet that is the only blip in his career.

He was a major, if slightly inconsistent threat before that move to Stamford Bridge with Basel and afterwards at Fiorentina, while the winger produced regular top-class performances for Roma.

Salah scored 29 Serie A goals and claimed 17 assists in two seasons in Rome. There is little doubt he was one of the best players on the market and he should justify Liverpool's record outlay.

It may not be quite enough to secure the title but Liverpool are heading in the right direction.

Key stat
Both teams scored in 24 of Liverpool's league matches which was a divisional-high last season.