Liverpool: Why Klopp’s anticipated perfect end collapsed

It hurts to witness Jurgen Klopp’s reign come to an abrupt end.

Liverpool was leading the Premier League and four trophies were still very much in play for them and everything was looking good at Anfield in late January.

Liverpool was defeated at by Arsenal nine days after Klopp announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season from his position as the Reds manager, which gave the league rivals an advantage.

The first major setback in Liverpool’s quadruple chase occurred in March following an FA Cup loss at Old Trafford in a game they should have won.

After the quadruple dream was reduced to a triple by Erik ten Hag’s United, Crystal Palace shocked Liverpool by winning them at Anfield. Liverpool losing at home is not very common, but the Reds conceded an early goal from Eberechi Eze and failed to equalise, opening the door for title race wider.

Days later, Atalanta came to Anfield fortress for an Europa League quarter-finals and scored three unanswered goals. It presented the Reds with an enormous task in the second-leg. They eventually won 1-0 but lost 3-1 on aggregate to the disappointment of everyone that was focused on a Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen final match in Dublin.

The exit was Jurgen Klopp‘s worst European exit at Liverpool, because Liverpool were clear favourites to win the title in a final with Alonso’s men.

At the moment, everyone’s attention was then focused on the league and a very unlikely slip by City. Rather, Liverpool faltered while Pep Guardiola’s team looked on.

Forms have little or nothing to do when it comes derbies especially the Merseyside Derby. Everton capitalised on that and secured a 2-0 win at Goodison Park against their neighbours last Wednesday night.

The loss was another major blow to Liverpool’s league chase. They have dropped ten points in their last five Premier League matches and, will require a miracle or a City and Arsenal slip to enter the title race proper again.

Each of those setbacks has been caused in part by individual fatigue, defensive lapses, and poor finishing. Virgil van Dijk, in a harsh evaluation of the derby loss identified lack of character as a reason for the loss.

A more convincing defence of Liverpool’s dismal performance would be so many long-term injuries and players returning from injury but losing form during the most cruel part of the season. It’s also clear that confidence has been negatively impacted. Salah had a fantastic record of fitness before to suffering a major hamstring injury during the January Africa Cup of Nations.

Before then, he had only missed ten premier league games in seven seasons at Liverpool, and two of those were because of international duties. The striker who was so dominant in the first half of the season has found it difficult to rediscover his edge after missing nearly two months of action, which is the first prolonged period of time out of the game in his Liverpool career.

Salah’s inability to get back on top of his game and Diogo Jota’s recurrent injury issues increased Núñez and Luis Díaz’s pressure in front of goal and both have not really filled that shoe.

Some also believe that Klopp announced his departure too early and its affecting players mentally. Wayne Rooney is of the opinion that the players’ thoughts might have started to process the announcement. Perhaps wondering what life will be like in a post-Klopp world. He is all that the team has ever known, and even the leading lights have hinted that they might be considering their choices.

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