MARCH 17 ― It’s an interesting question, and one which I’m not sure anyone could claim to answer with any confidence.
They are, of course, a very good team, and Jurgen Klopp certainly appears to have bounced back from a relatively disappointing start to his reign by improving the team and getting them to play vibrant, attacking football.
In particular, the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah is perhaps the best forward line in Europe, with their combined total of 45 goals helping to make Liverpool the second-highest scorers in the English Premier League behind runaway leaders Manchester City.
That trio are a wonderfully complementary set of players, able to associate well together or beat defenders one on one, with an abundance of creativity, speed and goalscoring which will always trouble any opposition.
The team’s attacking potential has been regularly witnessed in recent weeks, with goal-laden victories over Porto (5-0), West Ham (4-1), Huddersfield (3-0) and of course Manchester City (4-3) in the last two months alone.
To anyone who has watched Klopp‘s career, this goalscoring ability is no surprise. The towering coach made his name at Borussia Dortmund, winning back to back German titles in 2011 and 2012 and reaching the Champions League Final, where his team lost to compatriots Bayern Munich, in 2013.
During that period, Dortmund were one of the most swashbuckling, exciting teams you could ever hope to see, with gifted forwards like Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski consistently terrorising defences in the way that Klopp’s Liverpool team has done in recent weeks.
Klopp’s achievements in ousting Bayern for two consecutive seasons should not be underestimated. The Munich giants have totally dominated German football for the last few decades, and Dortmund’s success in beating them to the title was similarly notable as Atletico Madrid’s La Liga triumph ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2014.
This is important because it shows Klopp is capable of fulfilling the task he is now facing at Anfield: taking a big club with massive support and talented players, but lacking the spending power of their biggest rivals, and winning major trophies.
That, obviously, is why he was given the job in the first place, and so far he is living up to expectations.
There still remains, however, a “but.” At least a couple of them, in fact. Yes, Liverpool are great going forward, but they’re lacking control in midfield.
Yes, Klopp has spent money on Virgil van Dyke, but they still look vulnerable defensively. Yes, the front three are fast and creative, but they sometimes struggle against deep-lying defences like Manchester United’s in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat.
So there is room for improvement, and I don’t think many people are seriously expecting Liverpool to go much further in the Champions League after being drawn against City in yesterday’s quarter-finals draw.
Liverpool, I think most people would agree, are now a very good team, but (there’s that word again) they’re not yet among the elite ― not yet good enough to actually win the Premier League or the Champions League.
That’s ok though. They are building and improving, and unless you spend enormous amounts of money success does not come quickly (and even if you do invest huge sums success still isn’t guaranteed, as Paris St Germain have discovered on the European stage).
Klopp was appointed at Dortmund in 2008 and his team finished 6th and 5th in his first two seasons before taking the title at the end of his third season in charge.
He is now coming towards the end of his second season at Anfield, and so far it’s fair to say he is following a similar trajectory. What’s vital, though, is that the Reds do not let the rest of this campaign slip away because a top four finish ― and therefore a place in next season’s Champions League ― is not yet assured.
With Chelsea and Tottenham both otherwise engaged in the FA Cup, today’s home game against Watford gives Liverpool a chance to climb back into third place in the EPL, with seven games remaining.
That would be a nice cushion, not quite guaranteeing a place in the top four but enough to allow Klopp and his players to focus the majority of their efforts on upsetting the odds against City in the Champions League.
And then, who knows, maybe they’ll even manage to take a major trophy ahead of schedule. But if not, there would be no need to worry. They are heading in the right direction.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
