Liverpool's midfield can dance through the raindrops

I'm not sure what the transformation from battering ram to production of Swan Lake would be called, but that's essentially what Liverpool's midfield has done from last season to this one. The ability of Arne Slot to alter Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, and Dominik Szoboszlai to this current unit of elusive assassins is why the Reds sit atop the Premier League, the Champions League, and just clinched a Wembley appearance for the Carabao Cup Final yesterday.

Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's midfield was basically used to cover, prod, and run until they puked. The ball itself was almost incidental. They had to cover for the marauding fullbacks, press like someone had applied cayenne pepper somewhere awfully sensitive, get the ball to the forwards as quickly as they could, and if there was time and energy left maybe arrive late into the box to score. It certainly was effective, but there's a reason Liverpool had a couple seasons where it looked like their midfield three was stepping on their tongues.

The Liverpool midfield is playing entirely different this season

Slot has asked his midfielders to throttle down, try to breathe, and be the nexus of the entire team. He's also reintroduced them to the ball and convinced them it can be their friend. That might sound pretty basic, as most every team is built through the middle and is only as good as their midfield allows them to be. But it was a large change for the Anfield side. The evidence of late is stark.

Sure, tearing apart Tottenham, as Liverpool did on Thursday in the League Cup semifinal, is a challenge on the level of filling in your name correctly on the SAT (if you're unfamiliar with the SAT ask your parents. It was this thing we all had to do at 18 and had an acid flashback during, at least per my experience). It's the swatting aside of Bournemouth last Saturday that really showcases how Liverpool work now.

Szoboszlai was the star of the show against Spurs, capping his night off with the you-can-go-home-now third goal. But he was no less brilliant against Bournemouth, against a midfield that had just torn Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to shreds. Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams (salute) had been their own Thanos army in the previous weeks, stifling Newcastle, preventing any counterattacks from Forest, blocking up the scenery and breaking their minds.

They couldn't get close to Liverpool's troika. Adams attempted one tackle, which for a whirling dervish like him is unheard of. Christie only attempted two, and lost five of his nine duels. They simply couldn't get close enough to the control and movement of Liverpool's midfield.

It was no different on Thursday. Tottenham set up with three holding mids to try and clutch their one-goal aggregate lead tight to their chest. Szoboszlai had a goal, five shots, and created five chances. Jones completed 94 percent of his passes and created three chances. Gravenberch completed 93 percent of his passes, won four of his six duels, and wasn't dispossessed once. Try and harass them they'll dance by. Try and cut off their space, they'll find a way around and through.

Whatever the postmortem on this season becomes, it would be too easy to boil down the Premier League to simply, "Mo Salah was healthy, Bukayo Saka wasn't." While that's certainly a factor, Liverpool's midfield being slightly better week-to-week is equally an explanation. Gravenberch has been cleaner in possession than Thomas Partey (better pass completion, take-on percentage, and carrying the ball). Mac Allister has been just a little more creative than Declan Rice (more progressive passes and shot-creating actions). They've been ably supported by Jones. Arsenal don't have the same alternative with Mike Merino struggling to adapt and Jorginho applying for his AARP card. Martin Odegaard has been his usual brilliant self, but Szoboszlai has been more available.

There's still many miles to go before Liverpool sleep. But Slot's ability to get his midfield to shift in duty on a dime is what's gotten them to this elevated status already.