Liverpool confidently won their first game of the new Premier League season back in front of their adoring Anfield masses, as Arne Slot's men beat Thomas Frank's Brentford with relative ease 2-0.
Limiting the visiting Bees to just two shots on target in the game, the Reds could well have won by more on another day, with 19 total efforts registered on Mark Flekken's constantly busy goal.
Thankfully, Mohamed Salah kept onside deep into the second half to stroke an effort home that wrapped up a routine three points in the end, but it was Luis Diaz down the opposing flank that really shone during the comfortable victory.
Luis Diaz's performance in numbers
Unable to open his Premier League account away at Ipswich Town on the opening day, despite tallying up three efforts on the Tractor Boys net, Luis Diaz certainly turned up for the test back on home soil today.
The blistering Colombian winger had the exact same amount of shots registered up against Flekken but converted this time around, finishing off a well-executed counter-attack by lashing an effort past the Bees number one to ease any early nerves at Anfield to make it 1-0.
Away from that important opener, the electric Reds number seven was also ice-cold with the ball at his feet, with zero misplaced passes managed from his 41 touches, alongside offering grit when needed with six ground duels won, before going on another mazey dart forward.
Substituted off on the 72nd-minute mark for Cody Gakpo to get some minutes up top, Slot would have been delighted with the South American forward's individual display when he was at full pelt, with his four key passes on the day also nearly gifting him an assist to make the scoreline more emphatic.
Away from the entertaining attacking performance as a collective, Liverpool were also rock solid at the back courtesy of Ibrahima Konate starring in the heart of defence, who justified his starting spot against Brentford.
Konate's performance in numbers
Not featuring in Suffolk against Kieran McKenna's men from the get-go, with Jarell Quansah starting alongside Virgil Van Dijk initially, Konate was substituted on at half-time in that potential banana skin and ensured the Reds looked far more controlled defensively in that 2-0 win after a shaky first-half.
Fast forward to today, and the French centre-back performed in exactly the same manner over the straightforward 90 minutes, with another clean sheet notched up on his 24/25 resume.
Stat
Konate
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
87
Accurate passes
73/76 (96%)
Possession lost
4x
Clearances
3
Blocked shots
1
Tackles
3
Duels won
4/4
Stats by Sofascore
Glancing at Konate's glowing numbers from the game, when taking in the table above, the former RB Leipzig man has surely made that second centre-back spot next to Van Dijk his own going forward now, with 73 accurate passes managed – the most by any Liverpool shirt – and a flawless record with his duels as four out of four were bravely won.
Both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were limited to rare chances in the game as a result of Konate's imposing display, with an opening usually thwarted before it became too dangerous, often after a breakaway run forward fizzled out.
Konate's top display was reflected in Liverpool Echo journalist Ian Doyle's post-match ratings, with the 6 foot 4 titan handed an 8/10 rating after the dust had settled.
Doyle labelled the 25-year-old's showing as "composed and decisive", with Slot now hopeful that his number five can be as cool and collected when travelling to Manchester United next weekend.
A 100% record from their opening two league games will make for encouraging reading from Liverpool's perspective, but another victory on the board against Erik ten Hag's men to come would very much see the optimism levels raised once more that this can be a stunning season, even with Jurgen Klopp no longer occupying the dug-out.
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