Anyone seeking a perfect definition of the word “formidable” need look no further than a film of the day Mohamed Salah scored his 100th Premier League goal and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool made their title ambitions plain. Yet for all Fabinho’s midfield omnipotence, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s uplifting interpretation of the right-back role and Sadio Mané’s attacking quality, a pronounced sense of fragility permeated the mild West Yorkshire air.
In a second-half instant 18-year-old Harvey Elliott morphed from a young midfielder looking very much at home alongside Fabinho and Thiago Alcântara to a fearful teenager nursing a painfully dislocated left ankle.
