Naby Keita Is The Midfield Gem That Can Help Liverpool Challenge Manchester City For Premier League Title

Liverpool fans will be heading to work on Monday morning with a significant spring in their step after they watched their side trounce a mediocre West Ham United side 4-0 yesterday afternoon, but while Reds fans will no doubt adopt their customary stance of exaggerating the team's performances, from an outside perspective they could really have the squad to challenge for the Premier League title a sublime opening match win.

During their illustrious history the Merseysiders have failed to put the hands on the coveted top-flight title, but yesterday's authoritative success showed that they could be a real menace to Manchester City, who also kicked off their campaign with a win against Arsenal on Sunday.

Normal service was resumed at Anfield with Mohamed Salah opening the scoring with Sadio Mane bagging a brace of goals, and that pairing alongside Roberto Firmino will yet again be the star triumvirate that terrorise defences all season.

But, there was a real difference behind that attacking trilogy yesterday, and while much has been made of James Milner's fine performance in midfield, it was new boy Naby Keita that should be lauded as he was absolutely sensational in the central midfield area, and he could be the missing cog in a Liverpool midfield that has lacked that central spark since Steven Gerrard left.

A £52.75m summer signing, Keita produced a stunning debut as he often found himself between the lines of the West Ham midfield and defence, and having provided a notable assist for Salah's goal having pierced the Hammers right-hand side with an exquisite ball out to Andrew Robertson on the left, Keita showed what he has to offer.

Since Gerrard's exit and formerly Xabi Alonso, Liverpool have struggled to unearth a midfielder that can flourish between the lines of their opposition, but Keita often found pockets of space around West Ham's Jack Wilshere and Mark Noble, who struggled to deal with the 23-year-old, and Keita will be the catalyst for a whole host of Liverpool attacks this year.

Keita's passing statistics from yesterday just highlight his stunning performance, as he may have only made 68 passes in total, but 60 of them were successful, and it's where the passes were made that shows him in a much better light.  44 passes were made in the opposition half, of which a sensational 36 were successful, while 19 of his 25 passes in the final third also found their desired teammate which is a staggering amount for a player that will not be up to speed with the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.

Much was left on the shoulders of Messrs Salah, Mane and Firmino last season to try and manufacture a goal from very little, but Keita added to that trio could provide a real menacing quartet, and with Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson likely to adopt the defensive midfield role this season then that can give Keita the licence to unlock defences at will, as well as pressing on opposing midfielders to win the ball back.

Wijnaldum, Henderson and Milner could only manage eight Premier League assists last season, so Liverpool have been dying out for that midfield addition that can provide the Reds attacking trio with the ammunition to score goals, but Keita appears to have filled that void, and if Liverpool can kick on from Sunday's thumping victory then they could well be major contenders for the title, and Manchester City will certainly have to look over their shoulders as a Merseyside juggernaut is set to be a lot closer this season.