Liverpool's press returns to something like its best

The most encouraging aspect of Liverpool's win was not the scoreline but where on the pitch the goals began.

Winning it high

Both goals came from possession recovered inside the opposition half, a metric that had drifted for much of the previous season. Recovering the ball forty yards from goal is worth more than any number of completed passes further back.

The press is not about running more. It is about running together.

Sustaining it

The open question is whether the intensity holds through a congested fixture list, which is where it has slipped before.