At the End of a Storm: 6 stages in Liverpool's roller-coaster 2020-21 season

#6 A perfect run-in ensures Liverpool's season is salvaged

Jurgen Klopp said that finishing in the top four this season would be one of his greatest achievements in football. After the season Liverpool had endured, he was not wrong. The Reds needed to win pretty much all their games in May to stand a chance. An unlikely feat given the circumstances of their previous two draws.

Additionally, 20-year-old Rhys Williams was called upon after Ozan Kabak became the fourth Liverpool center-back to be ruled out for the season. They needed absolute perfection, with a depleted core.

A 2-0 win over Southampton started May off nicely before The Reds traveled to Old Trafford. A place Klopp had never won at. What a time for that to change. A late Mohamed Salah goal sealed a famous 4-2 victory. That wasn't even the most dramatic moment of the week.

With Liverpool needing a hero from a corner in the dying seconds of their game at West Brom, up stepped Alisson Becker to head home and win his team three priceless points. It was the most bizarre moment of the most bizarre season, as the goalkeeper kept The Reds alive in the race for Champions League football.

From that point, it was smooth sailing. Liverpool eased past Burnley, before a routine 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in front of the returning Anfield faithful ensured a third place finish. The run-in simply showed just how much fight Jurgen Klopp and his boys have in them.

They proved their worth as the "mentality monsters" the German described them as. Liverpool ended the season on a massive high, coming out from a period of crippling adversity and standing tall. Their team spirit shone through at the end, everybody played their hearts out.

Liverpool's 2020-21 campaign did not go as planned - it ended trophyless. But third place is as good as it gets if you spend most of the season without your three first-choice center-backs. Phillips and Williams' battle-scars are representative of what the team has gone through on the road to next season's Champions League.

Liverpool's standout player this season was Salah. He was the sole inspiration in attack, with Mane and Firmino dramatically losing form midway through. Fabinho played a massive role, while Thiago and Alexander-Arnold enjoyed a great final stretch. Robertson and Wijnaldum were ever-constants during such a draining campaign.

With 2020-21 done and dusted, Liverpool can focus on the following campaign. One that will surely not see the same bad luck with injuries. Klopp knows what areas require strengthening. With a revitalized current crop, along with a couple of new additions, The Reds can be a force once again next season.

At the end of a storm is a golden sky. Better days lie ahead.