Alisson injury and is Slot right to downplay the results? – Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool – Liverpool FC

Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in a game that had plenty to talk about.

Nine wins from the first ten games in all competitions is never an easy task for a coach in the Premier League.

However, Arne Slot makes this performance seem relatively routine as he continues to imprint his style of play on the team.

Here, Sam Millne (@sam_millne) and Liv Heslington (@livfhes) discuss the good, the bad and the context of Liverpool's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The good…

LIV: I don't think anyone can claim that everyone would be over the moon if we were all told in June or July that we were top of the table and had only lost one game.

Our strikers are connecting well and showing great teamwork going forward and Jota is proving once again what he is worth to the team.

I also enjoy the directness of Slot; I think this will keep the team grounded knowing that he expects the best and that the best is what he will get.

He goes into the game, gets the win, goes home and there's always something we can do better – I really like that.

Vitezslav Jaros also had a great debut and after coming on for Alisson there were no complaints in regular time. He saved and we kept a clean sheet, what more could you want?

SAM: For once, Liverpool actually started the game quickly at kick-off at 12.30 p.m. and played probably their best football of the season in the first half.

While Jota's goal looked easy, Kostas Tsimikas' pass and Cody Gakpo's cross were the result of work on the training ground – you could see the joy on Slot's face when the ball went into the goal.

Liverpool should have been more composed but the way the midfield played in a difficult place was very encouraging.

One must also take the time to mention Virgil van Dijk's performance. We are so used to him putting on world-class performances that we no longer adequately recognize his brilliance.

The captain used the ball particularly well on Saturday, completing ten passes into the final third and completing nine precise long passes in 13 attempts.

His ability to change play quickly is very important for Liverpool's build-up play. He has also adopted Slot's style of wanting to play quickly and vertically into the midfielders.

The bad…

LIV: Alisson's hamstring injury is not what we need or want.

While this may be speculation, it appears he is not fully healed from his first problem and I expect he will be out for a longer period of time.

We've got a few big games coming up now – Chelsea, Arsenal and the Champions League against RB Leipzig – that we'd most like him to play in, but I have no doubt Caoimhin Kelleher will do a good job.

It's just not an ideal situation considering Ali also tore his hamstring a few seasons ago, so it's always been difficult to heal and is something to pay attention to.

SAM: As Liv says, Alisson's injury is a huge blow and all I can say is that I'm grateful that Kelleher stayed in the summer.

Even if the Irishman is still in the squad, Liverpool would be wise not to rush our Brazilian number 1.

It's a testament to Kelleher that we have so much confidence in his abilities, but Alisson's absence will still be felt.

If you want to win the league, you often need the best goalkeeper in the league. It's frustrating that he's missing from such a difficult series of games, as he could have made a decisive contribution to winning the points at this stage.

Is it right to downplay the lead given the teams we played?

LIV: I don't think we can downplay it at all.

We started the season with a new coach, he came in, changed the style of play and the players have to get used to it – and they're still doing that.

So it's a great achievement to win as many games as we have and to be where we are.

Obviously we haven't played at clubs with 'bigger' names yet and it will be interesting to see what happens, but Slot's mentality when it comes to games doesn't worry us.

He's cool, calm and collected and mentally he'll always be that way, whether it's the Wolves at the bottom of the table or a team in the top four.

SAM: It seems that Slot has done the downplaying for us!

The head coach has taken the trouble to mention the strength of the opponents several times, but in the Premier League every game is difficult.

It will be really interesting to see how Liverpool play when it comes to technical excellence.

Under Jürgen Klopp we have often tried to disrupt the opponent's game, while Slot's end goal will be to beat them at their own game.

For now, however, we could imagine Liverpool playing more on the counter-attack against Man City, for example, rather than trying to dominate the game.