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Liverpool could, clearly, do with adding at least one more attacker to its ranks this summer. And at some point soon, Arne Slot will hope that his side is less susceptible to counter-attacks.
But after watching the first few games of the new Premier League season across the last eight days or so, it is important to remember that no team is perfect at this stage. Liverpool, after a higher turnover of players than anyone could have predicted this summer, is still a work in progress — and the return of Ryan Gravenberch should help on Monday.
Take even the briefest of looks at the Reds' potential Premier League title rivals, though, and it is clear that they too have work to do. Manchester City, for instance, hammered Wolves, but then was poor against Spurs, losing 2-0 at home.
Pep Guardiola's men do often lose to Tottenham — and Thomas Frank has done an excellent job so far of organizing what was a messy group of players that he inherited from Ange Postecoglou — but the worrying signs from last season for those of a Manchester City persuasion still remain.
John Stones was caught trying to catch Richarlison offside and failed. Moments later, Brennan Johnson had scored. And while Manchester City won't face a team as good on the counter as Spurs every week, every Premier League side has at least one major threat that will fancy their chances of replicating that breakaway.
Guardiola has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the winter and summer windows of 2025, but his team still lacked the kind of control and balance that it has at its best. It is far from the finished product.
Arsenal, too, was unconvincing against Manchester United a week ago, even if it won the game. The Gunners most recently hammered Leeds United, but that is one of the easiest games they will face all season.
Mikel Arteta has quietly spent in spades as well, with the pressure very much on him and his players to finally deliver after years of finishing second.
Viktor Gyokeres is a good finisher and showed that against Leeds, but big money was invested in Noni Madueke, and that will need to be justified. Eberechi Eze, meanwhile, can be inconsistent.
Eze, a $91 million (£67 million) addition from Crystal Palace, scored eight Premier League goals last season. He has shown flashes of quality, but will need to make a leap in consistency to prove value for money.
As Club World Cup champions, Chelsea was put into the equation by some for the Premier League title. But while Enzo Maresca's side swept West Ham United aside even without Cole Palmer on Friday, that might not be particularly telling.
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Graham Potter is surely among the favorites to be fired first this season (alongside Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest, it seems), and most teams would have won that game.
Chelsea, having played non-stop for much of the summer, is likely to face a fatigue issue at some point this season. And despite spending more than a billion dollars under Todd Boehly, it still doesn't have a world-class goalkeeper, center-back, or number nine — usually three vital ingredients for a sustained title charge.
Though Liverpool is not perfect at this stage, either, it is likelier than Manchester City and Chelsea, on recent evidence, to find better balance between defense and attack. Having added Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike to its roster, it has better forward options than Arsenal too — but, crucially, needs to ensure one more gets over the line before the end of the month.
It is still far too early for any predictions to be concrete, and one transfer, one injury, or one key moment could change the trajectory for anyone. For Liverpool, though, the title race is there to take charge of.
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