For the first time, Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa team visited Anfield and were defeated 1-0 by Liverpool. So far, we've learned the following about him as a coach.
As Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa team visited Anfield, Liverpool were deserving winners, with Mohamed Salah's second-half penalty kick the difference on the day.
When Alisson Becker made a desperate challenge late in the game, Gerrard was furious that his team didn't win a penalty of their own, but Diogo Jota could have made it more comfortable for the Reds with a big chance of his own.
The right team won the three points in a true battle of a match, despite Aston Villa's impressive performance.
From that match, Liverpool.com learned four things about Gerrard and his coaching career thus far.
Tactical shift
Few Liverpool fans expected Gerrard to set up his defensive structure at Aston Villa as quickly as he did, but the block of players obstructing Liverpool's path to goal was impressively assembled in such a short time.
Gerrard stated after the game that he would like to move away from that defensive approach sooner rather than later, but for the time being, it was the only way for Aston Villa to get anything out of the game.
It was very José Mourinho — as were Ashley Young's dark arts — but it appears that this is a play that he can implement, but may not want to do so long-term.
Jürgen Klopp is well-liked.
Both Jürgen Klopp and Steven Gerrard were keen to keep the focus on the pitch as much as possible in the build-up to the match, but that wasn't going to last long — at least outside of the 90 minutes.
Gerrard was greeted with a standing ovation when he emerged from the tunnel, and his name was also sung at full-time — as Klopp and Virgil van Dijk both stated, he was richly deserved.
However, there was only one time during the game when a rendition of the Gerrard song attempted to break out, and it was quickly drowned out as attention returned to the task at hand.
The fact that the game was so close and well-fought certainly helped. Things might have been different if Liverpool had been three or four goals up, but as the game progressed, respect for Gerrard was kept to a minimum.
Nod from Rafa Benitez
Getting ready to enter there was a fair bit of talk about Gerrard having set his Rangers side up similarly to Klopp, with a 4-3-3 system in place, much emphasis on his full-backs for creativity, and a functional midfield.
That remains true, but this was a Rafa Benitez-inspired formation, with Ollie Watkins left up top against Van Dijk and Jol Matip in a 4-5-1 formation.
Gerrard can play both a defensive and an attacking game plan, and his more adventurous side will show up against teams that aren't as good as Liverpool.
When it comes to selecting Liverpool's next manager, having Champions League experience will be extremely valuable.
Even if he continues to perform well, Aston Villa are unlikely to provide him with that platform, but matches against the best teams, particularly away from home, will pose a similar challenge to a European match.
So far, Gerrard has only lost by a hair to Man City and Liverpool, while winning all of his other matches. It's been a successful start.
Youth trusted
Klopp's use of the best Academy talents like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, and countless others has been one of the biggest pluses from his time as Liverpool manager.
Gerrard has made it clear that he wants to work in a similar way to Mourinho and, to some extent, Benitez.
When the experienced Emi Buenda and Morgan Sanson were among the substitutes at Anfield, Jacob Ramsey (20) was among the starters, while Gerrard has been quick to implement 18-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka, who was on the bench in this one.
Experienced players like Young and John McGinn are mixed in with up-and-comers, creating the ideal mix.
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