Football fans across England probably feared the worst when Liverpool ran away with the Premier League title in the 2019-20 season — winning their first top-flight trophy in 30 years by a huge 18 points clear of Manchester City. The general consensus amongst their rival fanbases was that now they had tasted glory, and by such a wide margin, they would run away with the title for years to come.
Even by the festive period of this campaign, Liverpool had gotten a foothold in a topsy-turvy title race and were sitting pretty at the top of the table, whilst also leading the way in the English Premier League winner odds. However, what happened next is hard to fathom.
Following the 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in mid-December — a victory that sent chills down the spines of football fans up and down the country as it looked like Liverpool were gearing up for successive title charges — Jürgen Klopp’s men went an unimaginable five Premier League games without victory, which included losing their lengthy run without defeat at Anfield.
The ship looked to have been steadied with wins over Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. However, the waves came crashing back with six defeats in seven games, five of which were at Anfield, including home losses to the likes of Fulham, Brighton and Hove Albion and even Everton.
If their title defence didn’t lie in tatters after the first five games without victory, it certainly did now. Even more worryingly for all those involved with the club is the fact that they have since been in a uphill struggle for the lucrative Champions League spots — a battle they now look to have lost.
Things have happened both on the pitch, like several injuries and a couple of personal bereavements, that haven’t made this already intense season any easier for Klopp and his men. But the German wants no pity from his rivals, and he has vowed that Liverpool will be back challenging at the top of the table next season.
“We are responsible for the things that happened to us,” Klopp said. “We were for the last few years constantly in semi-finals, finals, fighting for the league title. I don’t know if other teams then felt bad because of us. I wish for them not, and I don’t do that. I’m not a person like this. They deserve the situation they are in, that’s football, that’s fair.
“They won an awful lot of games, [Manchester] United turned the game around last night [against Roma in the Europa League], they did that already like 20 times this year, and that’s it. We will challenge them again next year, but this year we can only play our season and finish our season as good as somehow possible.”
There’s no doubt that Liverpool can be back firing on all cylinders again next season. The return of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez will give them a lot more stability at the back and fill their midfielders and attackers with more confidence going forward, knowing that their presence is back in defence.
The worry for Klopp is the fact that there will be little to no rest for many of his players this summer. When the season ends, the majority of Liverpool players will head out on international duty to the European Championships and the Copa América.
He will almost certainly be hoping that none of his stars then ask to represent their countries at the Olympic Games’ men’s football tournament, which clashes with the start of the Premier League season.
Missing out on a place in the Europa League could also help Liverpool on their quest to regain the top-flight title. Whilst Klopp admitted they’d be in it to win should they book their place in Europe’s secondary club competition, we’re sure he’d much rather not be bogged down by Thursday nights under the lights.
Should Klopp have a fully fit squad at his disposal for the start of next season, and if Liverpool can get started on the right foot, they will be a tough nut to crack once again, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them crowned champions.