1) The new signings have improved us all over the pitch
It was so much better than our last visit to Stoke. It was hard to believe it was still the same team. Of course, for the most part, it wasn’t. There were four new signings in from the start today and they all worked hard for us.
We’ve already spoken about Gomez, who looked decent on his Premier League debut. On the opposite flank, Nathaniel Clyne looked dangerous, and just what we’ve been crying out for from a right-back. He was solid in both an attacking and a defensive sense and was always up in support of Ibe. Benteke ran his heart out up front, competed for everything, and always gave the defenders something to think about. He might have been a little quiet, but he was that presence that we were missing last season. And a special mention must go to James Milner, who was everywhere today and actually made several crucial interventions when tracking back.
For a first game of the season, there were a lot of positives to take from today.
