Jurgen Klopp’s greatness at Liverpool is seemingly coming to an end due to injuries to key players and a lack of consistency.
Success
Jurgen Klopp has been immensely successful since he took over as Liverpool’s manager in 2015. Klopp had an immediate effect as Liverpool reached the 2015/16 Europa League Final, where they lost to Sevilla. Liverpool also lost the 2017/18 Champions League Final to Real Madrid. Liverpool went one better the following year as they beat Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018/19 Champions League Final. The holy grail for Liverpool is the Premier League, and Klopp ended their 30-year drought as The Reds won the 2019/20 Premier League title.
Signings
Sadio Mane was one of Klopp’s first signings as manager. The German’s man-management skills were unbelievable as Mane scored 120 goals for Liverpool. Mane departed from Liverpool as he signed for Bayern Munich for a fee of £35 million this Summer. Usually, Mane played wide left for Liverpool before playing as a central striker in the 2021/22 Premier League season. Mane scored 20 goals on average each season. As a result, he heavily contributed to Liverpool in winning both the Premier League and Champions League in the 2021/22 season.
Additions
Mane left a visible gap in the forward line as Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez for £85 million. Liverpool dreaded losing both Mohamed Salah and Mane in the same transfer window but broke the bank to make the Egyptian the highest-paid player at Anfield. Roberto Firmino, Salah, and Mane were Liverpool’s front three for many years, as they scored a combined 346 goals. There was a new look front three for the 2022/23 season due to the rise of Luis Diaz and new signing Nunez.
The season
Liverpool scored two goals in their opening Premier League game against Fulham but only had three shots on target, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Liverpool misfired in their first home game of the 2022/23 Premier League against Crystal Palace, as they only had four shots on target. In the end, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Nunez had a moment of madness against Crystal Palace as he got sent off halfway through the second half. Liverpool had a better day against Manchester United with having five shots on target but could not cope with the home side at Old Trafford as they lost 2-1. The best day for the Reds this season occurred when they scored nine goals against AFC Bournemouth.
September/October
Liverpool was drawn with Napoli, Ajax, and Rangers for the 2022/23 Champions League Group Stage. Liverpool scored three goals on two occasions in September & October against both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion. The Reds are very light in attacking positions after losing Luis Diaz to injury after their game against Arsenal. Salah scored a great goal in the memorable win against Manchester City but has struggled this season. He has only scored four goals in the 2022/23 Premier League. A lot of pressure is on the Egyptian’s shoulders when it comes to scoring goals.
To exacerbate the matter, Liverpool got another blow after losing Diego Jota to injury in their win against Man City.
Positives & negatives
Liverpool is playing three games a week due to the Champions League Group Stage, which is supposed to be over before the 2022 World Cup starts. Liverpool had seven shots on target in their first Champions League game but had a nightmare at the back as they conceded four goals against Napoli. Against Napoli, they gave away two penalties. Liverpool has won four Champions League games since and has qualified for the last 16 after beating Ajax 0-3.
Jurgen Klopp’s greatness coming to an end
As good as it was to qualify, they had two terrible defeats in between against Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. Against Forest, Dean Henderson, the goalkeeper, was awarded the Man Of The Match. Likewise, Illian Meslier, the goalkeeper, was also the best performer for Leeds. Liverpool was poor with not being clinical in these two games, and their poor form is down to a lack of goals by attacking players. Leeds and Forest played very well against Liverpool, but Klopp cannot afford to continue playing Salah as a natural striker. Liverpool is currently eight points off fourth place Newcastle in the Premier League, and The Reds will have a challenge on their hands to finish in the top four this season. Klopp has created a legacy at Liverpool, but the era is slowly coming to a close due to playing leaving, injuries to key players, and a lack of consistency.
