Reds won the Champions League and were runners-up in the Premier League last season
Wednesday 30 October 2019 15:35, UK
Liverpool produced one of the greatest campaigns in the club's illustrious history last season, winning the Champions League and coming within touching distance of a first-ever Premier League title - but can Jurgen Klopp's side repeat that this time around?
Klopp, in his third full campaign in charge at Anfield, guided Liverpool to a second-place finish on the back of a record-breaking 97-point haul.
However, despite losing just once all season long - at the Etihad in January - the Reds still finished a point behind eventual champions Manchester City in their quest for a first top-flight title since 1990.
That pain was somewhat diluted, though, by the side's subsequent victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final as Liverpool were crowned kings of Europe for a sixth time.
So, can the Reds repeat - or even better - what has already gone down as one of their best campaigns?
Or is it more likely Liverpool will suffer an almost inevitable hangover this season?
Some critics have suggested that having brought in only Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg this summer, Liverpool have failed to build on their achievements last season.
However, Klopp will now be able to call upon the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Gomez, Rhian Brewster and Adam Lallana, who all missed large chunks of last season through injury.
So much so that that quartet will act as new signings for the German.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain… come on. Fit… if that's not a new signing, then I don't know. To buy him, after the impression we got when he played for us, what do we think the price would be to buy that level of player?
"Brewster, Gomez, Lallana, it's all clear. We have these players, now we have to use them.
"If they are playing, then good. If not, then they have to push the others. That's how it should be. That's how good squads work, and that's what we believe in."
Meanwhile, young midfield duo Harry Wilson, who has impressed in preseason, and Ryan Kent - who both spent the previous campaign on loan at Derby and Rangers respectively - should also provide further competition for places this season.
Much of Liverpool's success last season was built around the prolific front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
However, one (albeit minor) criticism of Klopp's side was that with that trio - who barely missed a game all season - featuring in the majority of Liverpool's matches, there was no Plan B in attack.
This campaign, though, Klopp will also be able to call upon the now fit Brewster and Divock Origi, who ended speculation about his future by signing a new long-term deal in July.
The versatile Origi, in particular, offers Klopp a different option up front with his pace and physique, being more of a traditional target man than any of the other three forwards.
And with three goals to his name during preseason, to go with his strike that killed off Spurs in June's Champions League final, expect the Belgian - who made just 11 league appearances last season - to feature more prominently this coming campaign.
Meanwhile, the Reds boss has also promised to make greater use of Brewster's raw potential this season.
"Brewster is a top striker, he is a top talent and I have told him already that he has an important role this year, but how important depends on him," said Klopp.
"He has to play different positions as well - the centre, wing is possible I think, we will see how we line up, but there will be opportunities for him. I am sure."
Having lost only one of their 38 league encounters last season - the joint-second fewest in Premier League history - coming through numerous stern encounters and tests of character along the way, Liverpool will surely be better for the experience this time around.
In fact, Virgil van Dijk even recently spoke of how the incredible journey Liverpool's players went on last season will only stand them in good stead this time around.
"I think we should all learn a lot from it and take a lot of positive points from it on how to deal with the pressure," said the defender in an exclusive Sky Sports interview.
Not only that, but according to Van Dijk, winning Europe's premier club competition last season will also give the players an added motivation as they look to try and repeat the previous campaign's heroics.
Nobody should be worried about us and that we don't stay greedy. There are many reasons for staying greedy
"There is hunger to get more silverware with this group of players full of talent and quality," he said. "And also to celebrate afterwards, it gives you such a boost afterwards to experience that more times together."
And Klopp agrees with the Dutchman: "It's like this - you get now a bit of a feeling how it is and you want to have it all the time.
"Nobody should be worried about us and that we don't stay greedy. There are many reasons for staying greedy."
It is fair to say that the players Liverpool signed from abroad last season - Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alisson Becker- all took varying degrees of time to settle in at Anfield.
Keita was hamstrung by injury problems during the campaign, Fabinho was held back from regular first-team action until he became adjusted to Klopp's unique tactical demands, while Alisson had to become acclimatised to life as a goalkeeper in the Premier League.
All three, though, will be better for those experiences this season, with Liverpool sure to benefit as a result.
Not only that, but all the players - whether that be Xherdan Shaqiri, who only joined the club last summer, or captain Jordan Henderson, who has worked with Klopp since 2015 - will now have a better understanding of what the manager wants from them with his Gegenpressing system.
And again, as a consequence, Liverpool will be a better team this season.
Part of the price of last season's success is an inevitable increase in workload for Liverpool's players this campaign.
So that means on top of their usual commitments at home and abroad, the Reds also face Man City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, before a trip to Istanbul to take on Chelsea in the European Super Cup on August 14, as well as the FIFA World Club Championship in December.
Our December period is a madness, basically
And it is that latter competition in particular that may prove most challenging in Liverpool's efforts to repeat last season's sustained title charge, with Klopp's side set to play an energy-sapping 10 games in just 29 days over Christmas after their schedule in Qatar was recently confirmed.
"There are so many games. Our December period is a madness, basically," was Van Dijk's assessment of the club's busy Christmas schedule.
Liverpool will desperately be hoping history does not repeat itself this season, as the club has always followed finishing runners-up in the league with an underwhelming campaign the next season.
The most recent example of 'After the Lord Mayor's Show Syndrome' came in 2014-15 when, having once again gone within a whisker of winning the title the previous campaign, Brendan Rodgers's team flattered to deceive the next season when finishing down in sixth.
And the same also happened in 1991-92 (6th), 2002-03 (5th) and 2009-10 (7th), so Klopp will be anxious his players avoid a repeat scenario this time around.
Last season, for the second campaign in a row, the front three of Liverpool were in devastating form up front, spearheading the club's challenge on two fronts.
Between them, Salah (27), Mane (26) and Firmino (16) scored 69 goals in all competitions, while they also contributed a further 25 assists to the team cause.
However, Klopp was fortunate in many ways that his attacking trident barely missed a game through injury all season, a remarkable achievement really given their hectic schedule.
The chances of that key trio being injury fee again this season, especially given their expected extra workload, must be minimal though.
And if Klopp were to lose any of his first-choice forwards for an extended period, could the Reds really cope?
Despite Klopp's claim that new signings are not imperative, you do wonder if Liverpool have the strength in depth to repeat their record-breaking league campaign this season.
Yes, as previously mentioned, the likes of the returning Oxlade-Chamberlain will feel like new players.
However, there is a danger that Liverpool have stood still this summer and failed to build on last season's successes by not adding players to the squad, especially with them facing so many more fixtures this campaign.
City won the title after amassing an incredible 98 points and yet still broke their transfer record to sign Rodri from Atletico Madrid, while all Liverpool's other rivals have also strengthened.
As a result, and as Klopp recently alluded to, it would be a major surprise if this season was just another two-horse title race, with Liverpool sure to face greater challenges from the likes of Man Utd, Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea.
"It became a two-horse race last year, but unfortunately there are too many good clubs in this competition," said the Reds boss.
