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While Manchester City absolutely dominated the Premier League in the 2017/18 season, one of the teams that caught the eye of many was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. They may have ultimately finished the campaign in fourth place, but the Anfield outfit were many casual fans’ favourite team to watch.
Since arriving in the dugout, Klopp has brought a wave of enthusiasm and passion to one of Europe’s most famous, prestigious clubs. And in the 2017/18 season, that enthusiasm and passion were truly transitioned to the pitch as the German assembled a team full of attacking verve and free-flowing football.
Of course, that campaign would end with no silverware for the Reds, but there were plenty of goals and some truly mesmerizing performances to reflect on. That said, football is judged on trophies.
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In addition to their fourth-placed Premier League finish, last year also saw Liverpool reach the final of the Champions League – losing out to Real Madrid after goalkeeper Loris Karius had one of the most infamous big-game nightmares in recent memory. The point is, though, Liverpool have a lot to build on from last season.
Sure, the majority of people have Manchester City already penciled in as the 2018/2019 Premier League winners, but let’s take a look at why Liverpool should be viewed as the favorites to take home that trophy come May 2019. And just to clarify, this article was actually started before Man City dropped points away at Wolves; a result that only benefits the Kopites’ title challenge even further.
The Leadership of Virgil Van Dijk
Sure, Liverpool have proven themselves to be one of the most powerful attacking forces in world football over the past 12 months or so, but let’s face it, they’ve been absolutely dire at the back. Well, until now, that is.
With the sight of calamitous Ragnar Klavan and dopey Dejan Lovren lining up at centre-back early last season being enough to have many a Liverpool fan breaking out in a cold sweat, the oft-mocked Liverpool defence has now become a genuinely solid and reliable part of the team. And key to that is one man: the glorious Virgil Van Dijk.
After a premature approach for the player saw all kinds of unrest ahead of the 2017/2018 season, Jurgen Klopp wasn’t able to land the Dutchman until this past January. And since marking his debut with a goal against bitter rivals Everton, Van Dijk has gone from strength to strength.
While VDV’s calmness under pressure and his ability to start play from the back is obvious, another of his main traits is that he has a huge influence on those around him. Showcasing his leadership skills, Van Dijk is always able to rally those around him, to use his calm presence to relax his teammates, and is similarly prepared to bark orders when necessary.
Unfortunately for their rivals, Liverpool’s defence is no longer the laughing stock it once was – to the extent where Virgil Van Dijk is even able to make Dejan Lovren look like a relatively competent footballer!
The Lack of World Cup Burnout
So, so often these days, a post-World Cup season can be riddled with a slow start, a struggle for fitness, and a team having to keep some of their biggest stars out of their starting XI. While a side such as Tottenham had a huge amount of players get through to at least the semi-final stage of this summer’s World Cup, Liverpool have an advantage over many of their rivals on that front.
Out of the current Liverpool squad, Dejan Lovren was a key part of the Croatia team that lost to France in the final, while Jordan Henderson was in England’s engine room as the Three Lions went out at the semi-final stage. Trent Alexander-Arnold was a squad player for England, and Simon Mignolet was an unused part of the Belgium squad that similarly go to the semi-finals. Brazil’s Roberto Firmino, Egypt’s Mo Salah, and Serbia’s Marko Grujic all departed the tournament early, and so the Reds fared a lot more favourably than some of their fellow Premier League teams when it comes to the post-World Cup fallout.
For example, Spurs’ pre-season and the early part of their 2018/2019 Premier League campaign was hugely affected due to the sheer number of their players who were tied up with the latter stages of the World Cup; Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, and Moussa Dembele all a part of the Belgium side that got to the semi-finals; Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, and Danny Rose in the England squad that similarly went out at the semi-final mark; and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris captaining France to World Cup glory.
Elsewhere, all three of Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea had seven players involved in the World Cup semi-final stage.
The Enthusiasm of Jurgen Klopp
Is there a more excitable figure in football than Jurgen Klopp? Whether his team’s winning, losing, or drawing, the former Borussia Dortmund manager can be found rampantly parading along the touchline as he feels every pass, tackle, header, and shot that’s being seen on the pitch in front of him.
For those who dislike Liverpool, there was an audible groan when it was revealed that Klopp would be taking up residence in the Anfield dugout. That groan? That was one of begrudging admittance that, yes, this could prove to be a masterstroke and a move that sees Liverpool return to their former glory.
Looking at the black and white facts of it all, though, the German has yet to bring any sort of silverware to Anfield. In the modern game, so often a manager is judged on the trophies that are listed on his CV, yet Klopp has managed to win favour with many despite having a reputation of so often being second-best – having lost an FA Cup final, a Europa League final, and a Champions League final during his time at Liverpool.
What Klopp has on his side, however, is that his players all love to play for him. His enthusiasm and passion are unmatched, and it’s those traits that constantly have players lining up to play under Klopp. Following the disappointment of the 2017/2018 season for Liverpool, many managers might have struggled to get their players to bounce back and push on in the following campaign. For Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, that’s not the case. And if anything, it looks as if the Reds will only be going from strength to strength while Klopp remains at the helm.
That Electric Attack
As much as it may pain some of us to admit it, Liverpool’s attack was an absolute force of nature during the 2017/2018 season – and the goals don’t look like drying up any time soon!
In the Premier League alone, last year saw Mo Salah bag 32 goals in 36 games, Roberto Firmino 13 in 35 games, and Sadio Mane 10 goals in 29 games. To put into perspective just how impressive that is, the collective 55 goals by the trio last season was more goals than 14 other Premier League teams scored in total.
With the 2018/2019 campaign now underway, the Anfield outfit have only strengthened their attacking options further by bringing in the brilliant-but-erratic Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City, while the vision and quick distribution of Naby Keita – signed this summer from Red Bull Leipzig – will provide Liverpool’s forward line with plenty of chances to find the back of the net.
Liverpool’s attacking options are enough to scare any defence in world football, and the sheer power, pace, and unrelenting work rate of the likes of Salah, Made, and Firmino could ultimately play a huge part in bringing the Premier League trophy to Anfield for the first time in Liverpool’s history.
It’s Their Year…
For what feels like a lifetime – which in some case’s may actually be true – we’ve been hearing Liverpool fans harping on about how “it’s their year”. After several false dawns, utter disappointments, and fateful slips (sorry Stevie G), it looks as if it might actually be their year. And now when the Anfield faithful spout that overplayed cliché of a line, you can’t help but feel that for once they could be on to something.
Given how Liverpool are seen as one of the biggest clubs in Europe, it’s quite frankly embarrassing that they’ve still yet to bring home the Premier League trophy. This once dominant club has seen the Premier League head to bitter enemies Manchester United, to free-spending Manchester City, to similarly free-spending Chelsea, to Arsene Wenger’s magnificent Arsenal side, to uber underdogs Leicester City, and even to current Championship side Blackburn Rovers over the years – all while giving an envious glance and proclaiming how this next season was to be their year.
The last time that Liverpool actually won the league title was back in the 1989/90 season, when it was simply known as the English First Division. For all that LFC fans love to remind their rivals of “five times” in reference to their European Cup/Champions League triumphs, those same fans are absolutely desperate to see the Premier League finally added to the Liverpool trophy cabinet.
When looking at the tools at their disposal, there really hasn’t been a better opportunity for Liverpool to win the Premier League – and that includes those teams that were headed up by Anfield royalty such as Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, and, err Andy Carroll.
Now, with title favourites Manchester City having surprisingly dropped some points early on, maybe – just maybe – the stars are aligning for this year to finally be their year. But then, maybe this is just another campaign that will ultimately flatter to deceive for Liverpool.
