LONDON – Jurgen Klopp was headed for a glorious send-off in his final season at Liverpool just a few weeks ago, but talk of a potential quadruple is now long forgotten as the Reds have come off the rails.
The team have a mountain to climb on April 18 if they are to make the Europa League semi-finals, after losing the first leg of their quarter-final 3-0 at home to Atalanta last week.
Klopp’s men, who beat Chelsea to win the League Cup in February, were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United in March as the Red Devils edged out a thrilling tie 4-3 at Old Trafford.
Liverpool failed to learn their lesson from that defeat as they were held 2-2 by United three weeks later and then stunned 1-0 at home by Crystal Palace in their last two English Premier League games, to fall two points behind leaders Manchester City in the title race.
So what has gone wrong that Klopp’s fitting farewell is now at risk of fizzling out?
SLOW STARTS
Liverpool’s habit of fighting back from losing positions was lauded earlier in the campaign as a sign of the “mentality monsters” the German has created throughout his time at Anfield.
They have amassed 27 points after falling behind in the Premier League alone this season, but saw their luck run out against Palace on April 14 after yet another slow start.
In all competitions, the Reds have conceded the opening goal 21 times this season.
“It’s been the story of the last few games and that’s why we have been punished. We are struggling to keep clean sheets right now,” said left-back Andy Robertson on his side’s sluggish starts.
WASTEFUL FINISHING
To compound a run of nine games without a clean sheet, Liverpool’s forward line has also gone off the boil come the business end of the season.
In their last six league games, the 19-time English champions have scored just nine goals from a total of 149 shots, a conversion rate of 6 per cent, which would be the worst in the Premier League over the course of a season.
Mohamed Salah has looked out of sorts since returning from a hamstring injury picked up at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Diogo Jota, said to be the most natural finisher at the club, has only just returned from a two-month injury layoff.
Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have combined to score 45 goals this season but all remain inconsistent in front of goal. That trio have been labelled “scruffy” by former United captain Gary Neville in comparison to the Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane triumvirate that carried Liverpool to glory earlier in Klopp’s reign.
“I think the nature of the players, it will always be a little bit like that in terms of the numbers we are looking at because of the way they finish and the type of players that they are,” admitted former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
FATIGUE
The quest for the quadruple could now be coming back to haunt Klopp as Liverpool look to have run out of steam.
They have already played 51 games this season and will have a minimum of seven more before the end of the campaign.
A number of academy graduates stepped up during an injury crisis in the early months of 2024 and helped ensure Klopp did at least secure some silverware in his final season by winning the League Cup.
Yet, just as they are getting major players back with Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold returning along with Jota in the past week, those that have been relied on most during the winter months are fading.
Klopp conceded after the loss to Palace that midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo are struggling due to the burden placed upon them.
“A couple of players had to play a lot and a couple always were interrupted – that’s a bit the situation,” he said.
“We just have to make sure that we don’t think about where we are coming from – whether they are injured or whether they are not – and make sure we find a way to beat the specific opponent in front of us. It’s always like this.” AFP
