"Our playing style is not so much different," said Slot, of comparisons with Klopp, at his first press conference in early July. An unbeaten pre-season was followed by three successive wins – including a 3-0 victory at fierce rivals Man Utd – in a perfect start to the Premier League campaign.

Federico Chiesa, who has underwhelmed and barely played — and made only a minor tweak to a lineup pretty much molded by Klopp, installing Ryan Gravenberch as the first-choice defensive midfielder and playing Alexis Mac Allister in a slightly deeper role alongside him.

But it was the triumvirate of Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold who provided the bedrock for a run which brought just one defeat in their first 30 league matches, having opened up a 13-point lead by the end of February.