Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool dazzled both the Premier League and Champions League last year, putting in a number of notable performances as well as scoring a hatful of goals. Whilst Mo Salah was certainly the standout player in a record breaking personal season for the Egyptian, the forward line of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino also shouldered a lot of the goalscoring burden. As reported by https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42496637, it seemed that Liverpool had finally sorted their defensive frailties out with the signing of long term target Virgil Van Dijk for a world record transfer fee of $75m. Despite a 4th place finish in the Premier League and a Champions League final, the cold hard truth is that Liverpool once again failed to win a trophy under Jurgen Klopp. After a productive summer in the transfer market, are Liverpool a better team than last year and, if so, can they finally deliver a trophy at the end of the season for their fans?
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Even the most ardent Liverpool fan would admit that their side were second best to Real Madrid in Kiev back in May. As explained by https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/05/26/champions-league-final-2018-real-madrid-vs-liverpool-live-score, Madrid ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a Karin Benzema strike and a Gareth Bale double but it was the Liverpool keeper, Lois Karius that made the headlines for all the wrong seasons. By now, most people will have seen the footage of the mistakes and are also probably aware of the subsequent (and bizarre) discussions surrounding the German’s apparent concussion. Nevertheless, the important point here is that, over the summer, Liverpool made what looks like their best piece of business for a good number of years; the signing of a world class goalkeeper in the form of Alisson Becker from Roma. Not since Pepe Reina have The Reds had a truly top drawer keeper between the sticks and Alisson certainly fits the bill.
As can be seen over at https://betting.betfair.com/football/champions-league/, Liverpool are once again amongst the favourites to lift the Champions League trophy and this is surely in part down to the fact that they have also managed to keep the core of their team together from last year. In addition to this, younger players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez are a year older and wiser – this maturity will undoubtedly leave the team better equipped to deal with anything that comes their way this season, be it in the Champions League or any other competition they find themselves in. Other summer signings such as Naby Keita and Fabinho have also added midfield steel and depth to an area which Liverpool were arguably a little light. Ultimately, the fact that Liverpool have addressed their goalkeeping situation whilst simultaneously hanging onto their brilliant forward three can only bode well for the future.
In truth, the only way to judge whether Liverpool are a better team than last season is by their trophy haul at the end of the season. Playing the type of slick, attractive passing football that Klopp is known for is all well and good but when all is said and done, managers and teams are judged purely on what they’ve won during their careers. One thing’s for certain though, Liverpool are certainly no worse than last season on paper and after a few squad ins and outs, you would like to think that Klopp’s men are better equipped than they were last campaign to finally lift a trophy. Only time will tell.