Brendan issues United warning
Brendan Rodgers has warned his players that they must wait before switching their thoughts to the mammoth clash with Manchester United next weekend.
The Reds ground out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday courtesy of Daniel Sturridge's superb, improvised finish midway through the opening period.
Two victories and two clean sheets to kick off the campaign provide Rodgers' team with a solid platform to welcome reigning champions United to Anfield this Sunday.
Following the triumph at Villa Park, however, the boss was keen to point out that Liverpool have a Capital One Cup tie with Notts County on Tuesday to successfully navigate first.
"We've got a game on Tuesday night so there's no thoughts towards Manchester United yet," the Northern Irishman told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We've got a game in the cup that we want to progress through. There's no doubt winning games breeds confidence; the players are only getting the rewards for how hard they have been working.
"We had a really good pre-season, the focus in the team is very good and we were determined to make a good start. It's only two games, it's very early yet - but it's better to win them than draw or lose."
During the opening 20 minutes against Villa, Rodgers' charges enjoyed more than 70 per cent possession of the ball - but the home side responded strongly as the match wore on.
Analysing the encounter, the boss said: "It was an excellent result for us; performance-wise we played well, we controlled and dominated the first half and got the goal.
"In the second half, we had to control the game more without the ball.
"Aston Villa have showed in the first two games that they are arguably the best counter-attacking team in the division, so we knew we couldn't open up the spaces too much.
"It was a case of defending a little bit deeper, defending half a pitch and controlling the zones and the space between the lines. I thought the players did that exceptionally well."
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In their last 15 competitive fixtures, the Reds have been victorious on 10 occasions, drawn four times and lost just once - keeping nine clean sheets along the way.
"It has been a continuum from last season, since January," Rodgers said.
"Our game is normally to press with big pressure high up the field. But there are games tactically where you have got to change that and block spaces.
"Our game is always to control and dominate with the ball but sometimes you can control a game without the football.
"In the second half, even though we conceded the ball more, our organisation and how the players closed the spaces was very good."