Hits & Misses: Liverpool clicking and Chelsea get serious

Sky Sports' football writers analyse Saturday's Premier League action as Chelsea win at Everton and Liverpool beat nine-man Brentford...

Liverpool spent close to £400m on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola. Against Brentford, there was evidence that expensively-assembled attack might finally be clicking.

Isak was on the fringes of the game for long periods, limited to only 16 touches by the dogged hosts. But his brilliantly-taken goal, controlled and rifled home with dizzying speed in the second half, was a reminder of just how deadly he can be at his best.

It took him to five goals for the season. Only Erling Haaland has scored more in the Premier League. He is putting a difficult first season behind him and Andoni Iraola will be encouraged that it was Barcola who provided the assist.

The France international came into the game off the back of scoring a hat-trick against LASK in midweek and while he couldn't find the net against Brentford, missing a golden opportunity in the first half and hitting the bar in the second, Iraola liked what he saw.

"I love that he's having so many chances and being in those situations," said the Liverpool boss.

Then there was Wirtz, who provided the assist for Victor Munoz with a perfectly-weighted through-ball.

It was one of nine chances created - the joint-most by any Liverpool player in a single game since Opta started taking records in 2003/04. Nick Wright

Chelsea have the best front three in the Premier League but attack being the best form of defence for Xabi Alonso was never going to be sustainable. No team had conceded more goals than Chelsea's 13 after six Premier League matches.

But, in Saturday's 2-0 victory at Everton, they showed a different side to their game. Remarkably, this was not only Alonso's first clean sheet in the league since his appointment but also Chelsea's first clean sheet in the league for nine months.

Defensively, Chelsea have been a liability for some time. Alonso must fix that if his team are to take the leap and challenge again. The win at Everton was a step in the right direction. In the manager's words, Chelsea produced a "serious" and "mature" performance.

These are the characteristics that will differentiate Chelsea from most of the chasing pack in a Premier League season where seriousness is sorely lacking among some of the so-called 'Big Six'. Alonso, clearly, is a serious manager. Zinny Boswell

An ominous stat was provided by Opta during the build-up to Brentford's clash with Liverpool at the Gtech.

"Since their promotion to the top flight in 2021, the Bees have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League (102)."