Liverpool 3-0 Watford

Goals:
Salah 67'
Alexander-Arnold 76'
Firmino 89'

The Liverpool "it ain't great but hey we won" train continues apace.

3-0 absolutely flatters Liverpool. More than two-thirds of that game was not fun. 69% possession in the first half, no shots until the 39th minute. Somewhere between a six- and eight-man back line from Watford more often than not and no space for Liverpool's attackers to even get on the ball, whether it's Salah again up front and marshaled by both center-backs, or Firmino dropping so deep he's taking the ball off of center-backs, or Henderson passing backwards, or etc etc etc. All the frequent complaints when Liverpool stutter and stumble so far this season.

There was a little bit of a flurry at the end of the first half, with Firmino's snap shot, Mané's acrobatics, and Salah's set play header all saved by Foster, but it certainly was nowhere near convincing. Not even during that six-minute spell.

Meanwhile, Watford had the ball in the net in the second minute, Deeney flicking on a goal kick to an narrowly offside Deulofeu, in behind van Dijk. Watford forced the toughest save of the first half, Pereyra's blast denied by Alisson in the 39th minute. Watford could have had a penalty when Robertson *may* have unnecessarily fouled Hughes in the 55th minute – even replays didn't confirm whether contact actually happened.

But then Liverpool did a good. Finally. Firmino, pushing into the final third, receives the centered pass from Robertson, looks up, and finds Mané in behind with a through ball, perfectly timed and weighted. Mané's center finds Salah, somehow, with three defenders lurking in proximity, his first-time shot at Ben Foster awkwardly, the keeper unable to get down or kick clear.

That's seven goals in the league, through 13 games, with two more in the Champions League. Seven goals, despite a change in position, playing closer to center-backs for the majority of the season. Seven goals, despite being more closesly marked, with the entire league well aware of what Mo's capable of doing. Seven goals, despite being "off-form." Well, off-form compared to last season's wonder show.

And once Liverpool scored, it wasn't long until Liverpool switched to 4-3-3, with Milner replacing Shaqiri. Get the goal, open the opposition, free the front three. And then Liverpool were off, first from a set play and then, finally, from a counter-attack.

Dead ball situations are crucial to breaking down packed defenses. And Trent Alexander-Arnold, even when not in the best of form, is very good at dead ball situations, rifling a free kick similar to that against Hoffenheim last season. Nine minutes after Salah opened the scoring. From frustration to comfort in the space of two shots in less than ten minutes.

Henderson's second yellow – which definitely seemed coming for a good five-to-ten minutes – gave us a touch of drama in the final ten minutes, but there was no real riposte from Watford before Liverpool added a third, Robertson tearing down the left on the break, eluding a desperate tackle, centering for Mané. Denied by Foster, but cheekily headed in by Firmino. So much for Firmino's lack of form or finishing as well, I guess.

And here we are again. As against Palace, Brighton, Huddersfield, Fulham, etc. Stolid but solid. And just potent enough. It's getting harder to say that better is coming. It's getting harder to blame new acquisitions for Liverpool's change in formation, especially since Fabinho didn't even start.

Maybe this is the new normal. But, still unbeaten in the league, just two points behind Manchester City and having dropped just four points through a third of the campaign, it's hard to complain about results. If not the process.