After three wonderful years at the top – where they reached two Champions League Finals and won a Premier League – it all came crashing down for Liverpool this season. The Reds were 30 points worse off compared to their title-winning tally last season and while multiple factors caused this dip, injuries to key players are perhaps at the top of that list. Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson, Diogo Jota, Ozan Kabak, Thiago and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain all spent a large part of the season on the treatment table which left the Reds with an unbalanced squad filled with youngsters.
View this post on Instagram
Despite all the hardship and injuries, Liverpool showed their true mettle in the last few weeks of the campaign to salvage their season. The Reds eventually finished third in the league and reached the Champions League Quarter-Finals which should be considered a resounding success considering they did it with a centre-back pairing of Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips.
What went right?
After a manic start to 2021 where they lost 6 home league games in a row, the Reds rallied like a champion team to win 8 of their last 10 league games to qualify for the top 4. The performances of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho, in particular, towards the end of the campaign were simply incredible. The departure of Gini Wijnaldum is also mitigated by the rise of Curtis Jones who has also slotted seamlessly into midfield and looks ready to be starting for Liverpool.
What went wrong?
While injuries were a concern for the Reds this season, there were signs of their decline before players started dropping like flies. They lost 7-2 to Aston Villa early on in the campaign and just like Manchester City in 2019/20, there is bound to be a dip after 2-3 years of high performance from Klopp’s men. The form of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino halfway through the season was worrying and without question, going into the season with only three first-team centre-halves cost them dearly.
Player of the Season
View this post on Instagram
In a season where nothing was the same for Liverpool, Mohammed Salah continued to achieve his exceptionally high levels of performance and it was his 22 goals in the league that carried the Reds to a Champions League spot. Salah has managed at least 25 league goals and assists in each of the four seasons at Merseyside and has displayed a level of consistency that will put him amongst the greats of the game in the years to come.
Disappointment of the Season
While Salah has continued to terrorize defences down Liverpool’s right flank, it was a very different story with Sadio Mane on the opposite side. Mane struggled with his finishing this season and only managed 11 goals in the entire league campaign. According to xG data, Mane has scored 5.5 goals fewer than his Expected Goals tally and only 36% of his shots ended up on target. Mane’s regression this season has played a big part in Liverpool’s poor performances and Diogo Jota’s emergence could see him replace the Senegalese star in the starting XI as early as next season.
What Next?
View this post on Instagram
This summer is incredibly crucial for Liverpool as they look to reset and challenge for top titles again next year. Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will return at some point next season but they shouldn’t be relied upon to hit the ground running. All three have faced season-ending injuries and it will take a while for them to ramp up to full-speed. Adding reinforcements in defence and upfront must be the top priority for the Reds as they look to regain the dominance they established before the pandemic.
[Image Credit: Premier League]
Shivaan Shah