After 30 years of ups and downs, nearly’s and maybe’s – Liverpool have finally achieved their long-awaited desire to win the Premier League title.
It is safe to say the Red’s did it in style as well, winning the trophy with a staggering 18 point lead over second-place Manchester City – but what happened in that time for the club to achieve such an impossible feat? From incredible goals to surprise standouts, we’ll be looking at the highlights of Klopp’s team this season, from their player of the season to the defining moment, all the way down to their signing of the season.
This campaign has been jam-packed with high’s and low’s, and even a three-month sabbatical due to COVID-19, but this didn’t stop one of the clubs best seasons in their history. Now sit down and enjoy, as we give Liverpool’s title-winning campaign a FootballFanCast review for the ages…
Player of the Season – Sadio Mané
The Senegalese starlet has been incredible since joining the club in 2016, and marked the beginning of Klopp’s tenure at the club, having developed into one of the best players in the world.
With 18 goals and 7 assists this season, Mané has been incredibly important in Liverpool’s surge for the title, coming up with some important goals in the clubs run.
It would be easy to nominate Mohamed Salah or Jordan Henderson as Liverpool’s player of the season, but Mané has proven this year he is just as important as any in this Liverpool team.
Goal of the Season – Mo Salah vs Newcastle, Nov 10th ’19
With 85 incredible goals to choose from this season, it has proved difficult to name just one as the Reds’ goal of the season – but these decisions have to be made, and Mo Salah’s effort against Newcastle at home back in November has just nipped it for me.
Fabinho’s pass to Salah, who plays it into Firmino – in which the Brazilian shows of his samba and produces one of the most tantalising flicks you’ll ever see in a 1-2 back to the Egyptian, who drives forward into the box and makes the most acute finish across Dubravka into the bottom right corner.
Simply put, wow.
Breakthrough Player – Curtis Jones
This seemed an easy decision overall. The young scouser has been introduced to the best team in the league, and it was obvious that an opportunity to play was going to be difficult given the caliber of players at Liverpool’s disposal.
Despite this, Jones has proven he is a talented young player, and many Reds fans will be willing him on to become an important part of the team in years to come.
With a cracking goal against rivals Everton in the FA Cup in January, as well as scoring his first Premier League goal vs Aston Villa at the beginning of July – Jones has proven to be the club’s breakthrough player of this campaign.
Flop of the Season – Divock Origi
Before we break this one down, it is key to point out that not really any of the players at Liverpool have been a flop this season given it has been their best ever in the club’s history, totaling a club record 99 points and winning their first league title in 30 years – but a decision has to be made, and given the Belgian producing some big goals in big games, he’s been rather poor overall.
With just 4 goals in 28 league appearances, Origi has never quite met the expectations that many fans have expected of him, hence his inclusion as the club’s flop of the season.
Defining Moment – 2-1 win vs Aston Villa, Nov 2nd ’19
Liverpool’s comeback against the Villans back in November of last year proved Klopp’s men meant business, and their fight for the title was far from over.
The win saw the Reds move to six points clear from second place Man City after just 11 games, and in previous seasons Liverpool probably would have gone on to lose games such as that, but this season was different. The squad had a hunger and desire, having cruelly missed out on the title last season by one point.
This late comeback showed a side to Klopp’s team that proved they were destined to win the title this year and was my defining moment for the club this campaign.
Signing of the Season – Adrian
There had been a lack of arrivals at the beginning of the season for Liverpool, with just Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg looking like the only signings during the summer transfer window – this was until the departure of Simon Mignolet at the beginning of August, which saw the former West Ham goalkeeper join the Reds on a free transfer.
The Spaniard’s arrival proved to be as important as any, with Alisson coming off in Liverpool’s first game of the season after just 40 minutes against Norwich – which saw Adrian go on to play the next seven league games, winning all seven and keeping two clean sheets.
Hit Expectations? YES
Overall, Klopp and his players have been astronomical this season, and have more than hit any expectations of themselves this season.
It was clear that the club’s aim was to win the title this year, but they went above and beyond in the way in which they did so.
An 18 point lead with 99 points in total, winning 32 out of their 38 league games, winning the title with seven games still to play – the city of Liverpool will forever be indebted to the German and what he has done for the club, and all eyes will be looking toward next season, and the clubs attempt at retaining the coveted Premier League title.