Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney wouldn’t normally be at the front of the queue to praise Liverpool, but the former Manchester United duo have both used the same word to praise the Reds’ excellent start to the season.

Arne Slot has made the transition from the Jürgen Klopp era seamless so far, winning nine of his first 10 games as manager and leading his side to the top of the Premier League before the international break in October.

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LFC have scored just two goals in seven top-flight games under the Dutchman, a 71.4% drop from the number of goals they conceded at the same time 12 months ago, and this defensive improvement has not gone unnoticed among pundits.

Rooney and Neville were both impressed by Liverpool

Rooney appeared as a guest on the latest episode of Stick to Football and when asked which Premier League team has impressed him the most this season, he replied: “I would go to Liverpool. When the manager came after Klopp there was obviously a lot of pressure, but they seem more solid… they have a good, solid base and (Slot) is coming across well.”

Then Neville chimed in: “To be fair, that back five has probably played together more than any other back five in a long time, that’s what it feels like. There’s Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate and Van Dijk. Some will say Konate hasn’t played every game, but the back five with Alisson seems pretty solid.”

Unfortunately, this well-rehearsed quintet will not play together for at least a few weeks following the Brazilian goalkeeper’s hamstring injury against Crystal Palace last week, although we could hardly wish for a more capable replacement than Caoimhin Kelleher.

The Irishman has proven in the past that he is capable of stepping up when asked, and if Liverpool’s first defensive team can maintain their fitness throughout the season, they should be even more cohesive than they already were.

We keep our fingers crossed that we can count on this stability for the duration of the campaign!

You can watch the former Man United duo’s comments on Liverpool below (from 59:26) via The Overlap on YouTube: