Liverpool is virtually out of the race to win the Premier League title after their 2-2 draw with West Ham United last Saturday. Prior to that, they suffered back-to-back defeats in the league to Crystal Palace and Everton.
The Reds now have 75 points from 35 matches, which is two less than Arsenal’s tally. Moreover, with their emphatic win over Brighton and Hove Albion and then Nottingham Forest, Manchester City now has 76 points from 33 matches, which puts them firmly ahead of Jürgen Klopp’s men. Now, both Manchester City and Arsenal will have to play really badly to give Liverpool a chance to win the title.
Klopp was a Bit premature in making Liverpool Departure Announcement
This is going to be Klopp’s last season as the Liverpool manager. However, in hindsight, one feels that he was a bit premature in making the announcement and probably should have waited for the season to end. The 56-year-old German’s announcement took the focus away from the Reds’ exploits on the field and more emphasis seemed to be on giving a befitting farewell to him.
It is not that Liverpool did not have their share of injury concerns. Diogo Jota has appeared in only 32 matches out of a possible 54 this season so far and his injury has made the Reds miss a genuine goal-scorer at times. Jota still managed to find the net 15 times and his tally would have gone up had he been able to stay fit. Mohamed Salah played in the African Cup of Nations, and his form has hardly been the same since coming back.
Moreover, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez have scored 14 and 18 goals from 50 and 51 appearances, respectively, which cannot be called very good returns. In addition to that, the Reds lacked a genuine number 10 in their set-up. Hence, in spite of quality performance from their midfielders, especially Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endō, they were found wanting in terms of their goal-scoring prowess.
Klopp Won the EFL Cup, but Has Failed to Deliver Since
Liverpool won the EFL Cup, beating Chelsea in the final despite fielding a second-string team full of youngsters. However, since then, their form has gone downwards. They suffered a defeat to Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and then were eliminated by Atalanta from the Europa League.
While Klopp has restored the glory-days at Anfield during his nine-year tenure at the club by winning the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League titles, he should have been more judicious in selecting the time of announcing his decision to leave Liverpool. Quite understandably, a considerable amount of focus shifted to the speculations as regards his likely successor at the club.
The name of Xabi Alonso made the rounds, as did that of Rúben Amorim. Now, Arne Slot is being touted as the man to succeed Klopp. However, all of that could have waited till the end of the season. The attention could solely have remained on the Reds’ quest for their second league title under Klopp. However, it was not to be and as a result, the club is left to pay the price.