Liverpool hasn't been tipped as a Premier League title contender just yet, but there's no reason why Andoni Iraola's Reds shouldn't be competing at the top of the table come May

I watched Andoni Iraola's Liverpool in person for the first time on Saturday as the Reds came from behind to beat Brentford at the Gtech Stadium, and within the first ten minutes I knew exactly why the new boss will be a success on Merseyside.

Full disclosure, as I'm not a Liverpool fan, it's rare for me to get to many games. I'm not going to take the ticket of an actual Liverpool supporter, so I've not seen the Reds in action since last year's trip to the same stadium. The difference between the two Liverpool teams couldn't be more drastic.

Last season, Liverpool was slow, lackluster, devoid of shape or intensity, and well beaten by Brentford's physicality. All that was different this time around, as was evident from the first ten minutes.

The exact point where I found myself saying: "they're like a Jurgen Klopp team, we can't breathe" came when Brentford started passing the ball around at the back, bringing former Red Caomhin Kelleher into play by attempting to play the ball around.

When Brentford tried to pass the ball around at the back, however, Liverpool pressed as a cohesive unit, all four attacking players closing down at the right time and forcing Brentford into going long.

When the ball was pumped up towards Igor Thiago, Liverpool had the perfect answer; the impenetrable duo of Virgil van Dijk and his successor, Jeremy Jacquet. The French youngster stunned me with how commanding he was, how comfortable and confident on the ball he was, and his maturity in winding up opposition players, as we saw with Yehor Yarmoliuk's red card.

Liverpool continued to press like a well-oiled machine, defending from the front like a proper Klopp team of yesteryear. Compare that to last year, when Arne Slot's team was relatively easy to drag out of shape and play through,

Something you don't properly get a true grasp of on television is how cohesive the team press is. It's not just Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz cutting out passes to the center-backs, it's Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz pushing the opposition full-backs towards their own goal.

On the ball, Liverpool showed, to me at least, why challenging for the Premier League title this season should be a realistic target.

The attacking talent on display on Saturday was absurd. Wirtz showed glimpses of class, dropping slightly deeper at times, like his assist for Munoz's equalizer, and Isak looked terrifying every time he got on the ball. His touch and finish to put Liverpool 2-1 up happened within the blink of an eye, but proved exactly why the Reds forked out so much money for him.

Whenever Barcola got the ball on the wing, the fear as an opposition fan was ramped up, as evidenced by the fact my heartrate genuinely rose to 111bpm when he ran through clear on goal in the first half. His poor chipped shot attempt was disappointing, but he'll learn to simply stroke the ball into the bottom corner next time.

Adding Hugo Ekitike back into the mix in a couple of months gives Iraola an embarrassment of riches going forward, and there's no reason why his side can't challenge for the title.

Before Liverpool signed Alisson Becker and Van Dijk to strengthen a weak defense, the Reds used to win games by simply scoring more than the opposing side. That should be the attitude from here on out. Liverpool will concede goals, yes, but has the firepower to outscore any team in the league.

The midfield seems to be the only real cause for concern, and admittedly seeing Dominic Szoboszlai go down injured in the first half will have sunk the hearts of many in the away end on Saturday, but realistically Liverpool has more than enough talent. Ryan Gravenberch has shown he can be a world-beater, Alexis Mac Allister is more than capable and Trey Nyoni seems to be a diamond.

With Manchester City expected to get a hefty points deduction and Arsenal not exactly setting the world alight... why not Liverpool for the title? It's there to grab for any team willing to be good enough.