Jan Molby surprised by Liverpool resurgence as he expects title shootout with Man City

Following a rebuild of the squad in the summer which saw players like Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai join the squad, Liverpool are topping the league on 45 points following the first 20 games.

"I don't think the football has been sparkling in all the games, but they find a way. They have a button which they press, and simply turn up the tempo, the energy and the physicality. You sense that the other teams can't live with it.

"Go back to Liverpool's game against Fulham in the Carabao Cup. Fulham is 1-0 up and then Liverpool turn it up, up and up and eventually find a way," Molby continues in conversation with Tribalfootball.com.

And turn it up, they have, as Liverpool are 13 points better off after 20 games than at the same stage last season. Back then, they were 18 points behind Arsenal in the table and had 13 points less than Manchester City as Liverpool sat in 7th place, level on points with Brentford.

"I thought it would have taken a little more time for this Liverpool team. When Liverpool won the Premier League, you almost sensed it was coming. You were looking at a team getting more than 90 points in a season, and you thought, this is going to come.

"This is almost a brand new team, so you don't quite know what they're capable of, but they couldn't have done any more than what they've done so far," an impressed Molby states of the team which has been defeated just once in a Premier League and looks more competitive than it has done for ages.

Does it surprise you that Liverpool are this good compared to how good the others are?

"Yes, it certainly does. With the likes of Aston Villa and Tottenham being as good as they are now, it takes a lot to get to this stage of the season, having lost one game.

"Look at what Manchester City have been through, and let us not forget: Liverpool have been to the Etihad, they've been to Tottenham, they've been to Newcastle, they've been to Chelsea, and only lost the one in controversial circumstances against Tottenham.

"Had it just been two good teams like we've had in the past, you can be good on a cheaper background. But this way, you have a lot of tough games going on, and that makes it even more impressive."

Despite topping the league, is this even close to being one of the best Liverpool teams under Jurgen Klopp's reign?

"No, I don't think so. I don't think Klopp would look at this team and go, this is how I 100% want it. I think he's thinking, 'there's a lot of things we can improve on'. But I think he is equally impressed with their mentality. They've had injuries, suspensions, players now going away to play in Africa and Asia. And still, it just goes on and on and on. That mentality impresses him more than anything."

Is Mohamed Salah better than ever?

"I think he's more effective than ever. He has almost become a right-sided playmaker. He is somebody they're quite prepared to give the ball to. In the past, it would be in the final third where he'd do all his damage.

"Now he's involved a lot more. I don't know what's happened, but his vision has improved massively. He's played some beautiful assists this season."

Can Liverpool keep Manchester City behind them?

"Kevin De Bruyne coming back from injury and Erling Haaland coming back maybe in a couple of weeks after a break can only be good for Manchester City.

"I think the game at Anfield in March between Liverpool and Manchester City is possibly a title shootout. If Liverpool win that, I think they win the Premier League."

Are you a fan of this so-called winter break in the Premier League?

"No, I'm not really a fan of it. There are only two or three Premier League games in January. But we've got the Carabao Cup semi-final, we've got two rounds of FA Cup, so, no, I don't quite get it."