It was the kind of composed performance that you would expect from a team that boasted enough quality to play twice in one day, with two completely different starting XIs, last weekend. But Liverpool made overcoming the challenge posed by Ipswich Town look much easier than it really was.
In the first half at Portman Road, there was a little cause for consternation. Nevertheless, Arne Slot kept his cool. He threatened to look angry when Wes Burns was fortunate not to pick up a second yellow card but even that didn't muster much more than your ordinary moan to the fourth official.
And by the end of the second half, in the sunshine on the east coast, the Liverpool head coach had no reason to worry. Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota missed big chances before the latter opened the scoring and Mohamed Salah sealed the deal with half an hour to spare.
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It's early days, clearly, but Liverpool — and arguably Ryan Gravenberch in particular — showed the kind of composure that will be required this season. Slot wants control and the Reds did eventually deliver that once Ipswich ran out of steam.
There were fine margins — Virgil van Dijk might have conceded a penalty kick had there not been an offside offense in the build-up to his foul. And Diaz's miss could have been a huge talking point had Liverpool not gone on to win — but the most animated Slot got on the touchline was when he was pointing and cajoling his players into the right positions. His job title is head coach and he was very much coaching throughout.
The touchline behavior demonstrated a slight difference between Slot and his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp , and the first shoots of what was happening on the field were evident too. We now have a better idea of what Liverpool's midfield department will look like, with Dominik Szoboszlai much improved in the second period, for instance, and what Salah's role might be too.
There were, as Slot has always maintained would be the case, only marginal changes to what came before. But while there is continuity, Liverpool will benefit from subtle alterations as well.
Several players have described the shift to Slot as being substantial but there was no bump in the road here. "He gave everything and now there is a new manager, a new system," Salah told the Reds' official website at the final whistle. "It’s quite different for all of us so we need to adapt." If what is being asked of them individually and collectively is significantly different, it doesn't show.
It is not that the old regime had run its course — Klopp was only ever going to move away from his job on his own terms — but sometimes, something different is as good as something aiming to be better. There can be a benefit to a change of leader and a new voice inside the dressing room.
Clearly, after just one proper match in charge, we cannot make any sweeping judgments. Liverpool will face bigger tests this season than Ipswich, without playing down the potential for a slip-up away at a newly promoted team too much, and no movement in the transfer market would be a worry. It got control of this fixture after a slow beginning.
Much still remains to be completely content with what the era holds. What we've seen so far, though, makes Gary Neville's suggestion that the Reds might not finish inside the top six this season even more ludicrous than it already was .
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