Jurgen Klopp’s side is irresistible when they are bursting forward with pace and power, with Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino set to challenge every defence they come up against.
It’s at the other end where the Reds have real problems, however.
Their much publicised failure to sign Southampton central defender Virgil van Dijk could yet come back to haunt them because, defensively, they are a horror show.
The two goals they conceded should have been easily avoided, and, unless they start learning from those mistakes and cutting them out, this will be a season of under-achievement.
After leaking five goals against Manchester City at the weekend, albeit with only ten men following Mane’s red card, there were only four minutes gone at Anfield when they shipped another soft one.
Liverpool had several chances to clear their lines before the ball even reached Joaquin Correa but, having to failed to do so, those errors were compounded as Dejan Lovren completely missed an easy interception to cut out the cross, and Alberto Moreno allowed Wissam Ben Yedder the freedom of the six-yard box to score.
It was the worst possible start for the Reds but, to their credit, they responded well and largely dominated the game from that point on.
They leveled on 21 minutes when Moreno went some way to making up for his earlier lapse. He played a neat one-two with Jordan Henderson before firing low across goal for Firmino to turn the ball in from close range.
Nine minutes before the break, it was 2-1. Salah’s cross was half cleared but, as Steven N’Zonzi attempted to stride clear, the Egyptian stole the ball off him. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie waved away Sevilla’s cries for a foul and Salah took full advantage, seeing his 20-yard shot deflect off the bottom of Simon Kjaer’s boot and up and over the helpless goalkeeper.
Firmino missed a penalty – hitting the left hand post – that would have made the game safe four minutes before half-time, and how costly that would later prove, but the second period followed much the same pattern as the first, with wave after wave of red attack and they looked sure to go on and win.
Mane, Salah and Firmino all fired shots high or wide before Sergio Rico, pretty much without knowing how he did it, blocked Georginio Wijnaldum’s well-struck drive.
But their failure to create or take clear-cut opening cost them with 17 minutes remaining as Correa took advantage of a huge gap in the middle of the Reds’ defence to collect Luis Muriel’s pass and open up his body to fire past Loris Karius.
That was the moment that summed up Liverpool’s night. And that sort of error could eventually sum up their season.
