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ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool handed an early blow to Arsenal in the Premier League title race with Dominik Szoboszlai slamming home a free-kick to break the deadlock in an even contest.
William Saliba went off injured early in the game but the teams couldn't be separated in a tight first half. And that pattern was looking set to continue until Szoboszlai stepped up from more than 30 yards.
While there is only three games to have been played, this was a big step in the right direction for a Liverpool side yet to fully click into top gear. Here are the four things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded.
Dominik Szoboszlai's screamer
If Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz felt the full force of the intensity at St James' Park on Monday, this was another taste of what the Premier League can be like: their first experience of a 'Big Six' clash.
In these games, the important thing is not to lose. It certainly felt like both teams thought that for the majority of the first half, in particular. In the end, Szoboszlai took matters into his own hands.
Ekitike and Wirtz are still a work in progress. So too is Liverpool as a whole. But already, it has three more points than Arsenal and six more than Manchester City. It's an excellent position to reach the first international break in.
Gravenberch vs Zubimendi
Had Martin Zubimendi not been convinced to do another year in La Liga with his boyhood side, he could well have been lining up for Liverpool in this fixture. A year after rejecting the Reds, though, he is playing for Arsenal.
When Zubimendi turned down the chance of a $68 million (£51 million) move to Anfield, Arne Slot turned to Ryan Gravenberch. It was, it turns out, quite simply a revelation.
This was a strong performance from both Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister alongside him. Curtis Jones then came on and played his part too. In a tight midfield battle, they came out on top.... just.
Set-piece improvement
Florian Wirtz was matched up with Gabriel for the Arsenal attacking set-pieces — a mismatch physically — but Liverpool got away with it. Virgil van Dijk called for an improvement in that regard a few days ago, and he certainly got it.
"We could have made it a lot easier for ourselves, I think," the Liverpool captain told reporters at St James' Park on Monday. "We don't want to concede goals, and I think today we conceded two goals from set-pieces.
"We defended all night pretty well, but those two goals got Newcastle back in the game and gave them belief. That is something we have to keep working on, and we will."
Arsenal's main threat comes from dead balls and so for Liverpool to keep a clean sheet was a major boost. It still has more work to do, but this was a positive step.
Premier League title picture
Nothing can possibly be won — or even lost — in the Premier League title race at this point in the campaign, but both sides would have known the importance of not losing. The final standings might not have more than one number between them in the points tallies, and this is a six-pointer.
Earlier in the day, Manchester City — the other obvious title contender — lost at Brighton. That result means that Pep Guardiola's side has already lost two in three — the same number that Liverpool had lost when it confirmed the Premier League title by beating Spurs on matchday 34 of last season.
And in this game, it showed that neither wanted to take too many risks. It was cagey at times, and both took their time with set-pieces. The wind didn't help the flow of things either. When a point apiece is a good result, it often ends that way. But Szoboszlai had other ideas.
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