With Mo Salah and Liverpool – along with Manchester City of course – redefining the Premier League landscape, one interesting statistic at Anfield has been somewhat overlooked.
The emphasis on dynamic, enthralling attacking football has increased expectation to a level which has placed huge pressure on more conservative managers like Jose Mourinho, and Antonio Conte.
But it has also reduced the spotlight, and appreciation, directed towards the Reds defenders - which is something of an achievement, given just how intense its glare was when Virgil van Dijk arrived at Anfield a few short months ago.
Liverpool have six clean sheets in their last nine games, which is a remarkable stat when you consider they had just two in their first 12 matches of the campaign.
And even more interestingly, since van Dijk arrived, they have conceded just ONE goal from a set piece – at Swansea, and unlucky at that – compared to the unfailing ability to concede from dead balls at the start of the season.
Van Dijk has quietly and efficiently fitted into a refreshed back line, with Andrew Robertson also providing more steel and aggression in a left back position that has seemed so vulnerable for years at Liverpool.
And for the Dutch defender, there is quiet satisfaction that he has settled in so quickly - even if the demands he places on himself meant he always expected to do it with the minimum of fuss.
“Yeah, I definitely feel as though I have settled in now,” he said in answer to a question which suggested Liverpool seem far calmer in their defending.
“Quicker than I might have thought? I don't know. Obviously you come here with expectations and you want to play as soon as possible and as much as possible this season and be as fit as possible and quick as possible.
“Now, I'm getting better and better and the understanding with all of the players is getting much better. I'm just playing my game and trying to help my team.”
On Saturday against Watford, Salah was understandably the centre of attention, with the eyes of the world now on a player who is currently operating at the rarified level of a Messi or Ronaldo.
No one talks about Liverpool's defending much any more – the odd blip at Old Trafford aside – and that is testimony to the work the centre half has done in knitting together a back line that operates under natural pressure from an attacking line up.
Manchester City and Liverpool, along with Spurs, are rewriting the expectations of fans...with Mourinho feeling the backlash. No longer is it perfectly acceptable to play cautiously, with holding midfielders zealously protecting a dogged back four, as Mourinho has done all his career. Not when sides are winning playing such attractive football.
Yet that places a huge strain on defenders like van Dijk. They have no protection, they are expected to go one on one with some of the best strikers in world football, and deal with the challenge.
When he arrived, that was quite patently the biggest difference from his days at Southampton where defence was the emphasis, particularly against the stronger sides, and protection was the key.
Getting used to that, learning the new system was one of the biggest challenges he faced – along with fitness, after injuries for the past year – but the Holland international feels has has done that now.
“What per cent am I now? That's difficult. But I'm completely over the ankle problems, definitely. That was already the case when I started playing again at Southampton,” he explained.
“It's more than that, it's also just condition-wise and the way Liverpool play you need to be spot on. That's pretty clear right now.”
For van Dijk, the new few weeks will tell him more about the wisdom of his choice to move to Anfield, when there were other offers on the table from the likes of Chelsea.
The Champions' League showdown with City comes in the middle of a tough series of games, with visits to the likes of Palace, Everton and Chelsea. And there is the small matter of a Holland friendly against England.
It is a huge period, he admits, but for now, the chance to test himself against his adopted country in the focus.
“You don't think about that when you're heading off with the international team,” he said of the Champions' League. “You're giving everything for your country, and that's what I'm going to do.
“It's a big period for us as a country, we have been in transition, we have a new manager, and it's going to be totally different now and I'm looking forward to meeting up with the guys. We play England as well, so it's going to be good.
“Everybody knows that anyone we get in the Champions' League is going to be very hard. Man City is a very good team, very hard to play against and we need to be 100% or even better to beat them over two games.
“We can prepare for that when the time comes.”