Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Liverpool: 5 Talking Points, Premier League 2018-19

#1 Liverpool's perfection against a long-time Achilles' Heel

13 Clean Sheets out of 22. Another day's job well done.

Liverpool have now played 16 games against teams outside the top 5 of the Premier League. They have won all of those 16. What a change!

Over the previous seasons under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds' biggest problem has been their inability to win against some of these lesser sides, which has cost them a sizeable chunk of valuable points.

What has changed this time around though? In every way, the credit for that would have to go to the defensive solidity that they now possess. The axis of Van Dijk and Alisson Becker has been hugely important. Where the Reds would drop points through individual errors in previous seasons, they are blemishless in the current term.

There's also the confidence that those two bring to the team. Liverpool now know that if they score one goal, that, very often, could be enough to win them games. That has meant that they aren't going gung-ho as often as they would.

They say the ability to keep clean-sheets will always keep a team in the hunt to win titles, and Liverpool are live examples of that, this season.

Over the course of the season, Liverpool have 30 games against teams outside the top 5. If they keep up their current record against those teams in the remaining 14 games, they probably would end up winning the league.