How Klopp changed Liverpool

Season 2015-2016

October 2015, Klopp Taking over Liverpool is disoriented after not achieving the desired success with Rodgers. They also no longer captain Steven Gerrard and the world’s top striker at that time Luis Suarez.

Klopp only worked with the team three days before his debut. But instead of continuing to use the tactics and style that the players have grown accustomed to since Rodgers, the German coach immediately adopted a preferred style of kicking gegenpressing (a type of total counter-attack).

This match, Liverpool played with Klopp’s familiar 4-3-3 formation and constantly moving, leaving Tottenham not knowing what had happened to them, literally. Klopp wants Liverpool to quickly gain possession of the ball and deploy even with greater speed, and asks his players to keep pressing high. It was also the match Liverpool moved the most that season, and they also became the first team to run more than Tottenham (116 km vs 114.8 km).

Klopp immediately created a revolution, but there is still much work to be done. Liverpool players run a lot, but sometimes lack sophistication, chaos and lack of cohesion. This happened for the rest of the season, costing them two finals. First, Liverpool lost 1-3 to Man City in the penalty shootout of the League Cup final, after drawing 1-1 in official time. Klopp then continued to miss his first title when he lost 1-3 to Sevilla in the Europa League final tie. This result also made Liverpool miss the Champions League ticket next season, because they only finished eighth in the Premier League.

Season 2016-2017

Liverpool won their fourth, and third consecutive Premier League win, at the start of Klopp’s first full season. Liverpool’s stellar performance offers a lot of promise, as it shows the German coach is delivering on his promise to bring heavyweight football to Anfield.

It was Mike Phelan’s Hull City game, with two important changes at the front line. The first is the work Roberto Firmino kick a virtual striker, which Klopp did in the 4-1 win at Man City the previous season.

The second is the sublime performance of Sadio Mane. Many fans doubt the deal Liverpool spent nearly 40 million USD to buy the Senegal winger from Southampton. However, Mane quickly quelled all doubts with his speed and fearsome goalscoring instinct. Mane’s importance was clearly shown when he joined Senegal to play the Africa Cup, leaving Liverpool out of breath and unable to race for the championship.

The Anfield owner also signed a contract with Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle for $ 30 million in the summer of 2016. Like Mane, the Dutch midfielder played an important role in helping Liverpool finish fourth in the Premier League to return to the Champions League.

Season 2017-2018

Many Liverpool fans will probably choose the 2017-2018 season as their favorite season under Klopp, even though they lost nothing when they lost 1-3 to Real in the Champions League final in Kyiv. The reason is that Liverpool began to perform attractive, attractive football, signaling that glory was very near.

Klopp has the energetic, world-class full-back duo he has wanted since taking power, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson – who only cost Liverpool $ 10 million to sign from Hull. This signing also shows a sharp eye on Klopp’s transfer floor.

More importantly, the German coach has a new leader in the defense to complete the squad, when he persuades the leadership to spend a record amount of 100 million USD to recruit. Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018. Klopp decided to be strong to upgrade the defense after selling Philippe Coutinho for Barca for nearly 200 million USD.

Liverpool fans mourned Coutinho’s departure, but were quickly overcome by Van Dijk’s calm and steady performance. With the Dutch midfielder, Klopp can push the squad to play higher. The appearance of Van Dijk helps Klopp perfect his gegenpressing style.

This is also the season Mohamed Salah – who joined Liverpool from Roma for $48 million – bursting with 44 goals in 52 games in all competitions. He combined with Mane and Firmino to form an irreplaceable trio in attack. Their best match came in a 5-0 victory at Porto in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, when Mane scored a hat-trick and Salah and Firmino each contributed a goal.

Season 2018-2019

Liverpool reach the Champions League final for the second time in a row. This time, they beat Tottenham 2-0 to consolidate the leading position of English football in Europe with the sixth Champions League / European Cup Winners’ Cup, far ahead of the team that owns the second most titles in England. (Man Utd – three titles). It is also Klopp’s first Champions League title, having lost his previous two finals with Dortmund in 2013 and Liverpool in 2018.

Liverpool’s most obvious change comes in the position of the wooden frame. After a disastrous performance in the Champions League final against Real, Loris Karius has no future at Anfield. Simon Mignolet also does not receive Klopp’s absolute trust. Therefore, he asked the management to spend $88 million to turn Alisson become the most expensive goalkeeper in the world.

Basically, this is the money left over from the sale of Coutinho to Barca, and is the right investment. Alisson helped Klopp solve the goalkeeping problem with an excellent debut season. In the Champions League final against Tottenham, he also made eight saves to help the home team keep a clean sheet.

Like Van Dijk, Alisson helped change the face of Liverpool’s defense. The Brazilian goalkeeper has technique, positional awareness and good footwork, allowing Liverpool’s ball deployment to develop seamlessly from the bottom line.

Another important Liverpool signing in the summer of 2018 was also Brazilian player Fabinho. Klopp did not hide his intention to recruit a high-class defensive midfielder, after Emre Can arrived at Juventus, he should bring Fabinho from Monaco for 50 million USD. He took time to integrate, but still gradually asserted his name in the second leg.

Fabinho’s aggressiveness, competitive ability and strong play have helped Liverpool reach a new level, showing not only in Europe but also in the Premier League, where they won 97 points, just one behind champions Man City the point. After four years, Klopp has found the best frame.

Season 2019-2020

The team that helped Liverpool win their first Premier League title, along with the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup – is essentially the same as last season. They have more than enough confidence and motivation to compete for the title, even if they lose their rhythm due to the suspension of the season because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If a change has to be found, it comes in the defence. After an excellent 2018-2019 season with Van Dijk, Joel Matip is often absent due to serious ankle and knee injuries. In total, he has only made 13 appearances this season.

Replacing Matip is Joe Gomez – Van Dijk’s regular partner in defense in the 2018-2019 season, until the England midfielder suffered a serious ankle injury in December. Gomez returned strong, making 43 appearances in season 2019-2020, including the victory against Crystal Palace at Anfield without an audience, bringing Liverpool to one hand to the English Premier League title. They were crowned when Man City lost to Chelsea a day later.

Season 2020-2021

In Liverpool’s first season as English football champions since 1991, Klopp suffered a defensive crisis when he lost all three of his best centre-backs, Van Dijk, Matip and Gomez, to long-term injuries. Having pushed Dejan Lovren to Zenit in the summer, the German coach had to put out the fire by trying different solutions, including having Jordan Henderson team up with Fabinho. This caused the Liverpool midfield to crumble.

In the winter transfer window, Klopp “fired” by signing two central defenders, Ben Davies from Preston for $ 2 million and loaning Ozan Kabak from Schalke. Both were utter disappointments. Davies did not play a single game, and Kabak struggled while the team lost its way, most evident in its six-game losing streak at home.

Klopp then had to rely on the youth team to patch up the defense. Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams played at centre-back in all five end-of-season wins, including a 4-2 win over Man Utd at Old Trafford, helping Liverpool finish in the top four of the Premier League. This duo, aged 24 and 20 respectively, while still raw, has shown remarkable maturity in a difficult situation.

Another factor that helps Liverpool revive at the end of the season is the brilliant performance of Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota – the duo were recruited by Liverpool in the summer. Not to mention the header of goalkeeper Alisson in the last minute of injury time to help Liverpool beat the host West Brom 2-1 in round 36 of the Premier League. This extraordinary moment helped Alisson go down in Liverpool history as the first goalkeeper to score in an official match, as well as the first goalkeeper to head in the Premier League.

Season 2021-2022

This season, Klopp has brought back the best central defenders, but there have also been many changes in the squad. The most prominent is the recruitment of Luis Diaz from Porto for a total of $ 72 million in the January 2022 transfer window. The Colombian winger immediately became a key element of Klopp’s squad, scoring six goals in all competitions.

The appearance of Diaz made Klopp repeatedly push Mane to kick the striker. In addition, Jota always plays well when given the opportunity. This makes Firmino unable to compete for the position, although partly because of injury, and has almost no future at Anfield.

In defense, Ibrahima Konate gradually won Klopp’s trust after joining Liverpool for 47 million from RB Leipzig. Up front, Thiago – after an inconsistent first season – became the mainstay of Liverpool’s play with his vision and ability to distribute the ball. He joins Fabinho and Naby Keita as Klopp’s favorite midfield trio, causing captain Jordan Henderson to get used to the bench.

The fact that Georginio Wijnaldum joined PSG on a free form also opened the door for Harvey Elliott to play more, something the 19-year-old made good use of before breaking his ankle and requiring surgery against Leeds in September. 2021. The fact that Elliott, along with Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Williams and Curtis Jones were given the opportunity shows Klopp’s faith in young players.

British newspaper Guardian This is the third strongest Liverpool squad under Klopp, after the 2017-2018 seasons and the 2018-2020 period. The most impressive performance this season came in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, when Liverpool led Man City 3-0 at half-time with aggressive and energetic football.

Liverpool maintained their high form for most of the season, winning the League Cup and FA Cup double. Although unable to surpass Man City when racing for the Premier League title and disillusioned with a quadruple, Liverpool is confident of defeating Real in the Champions League final at the Stade de France, Paris tomorrow May 28 to win the third title this season.

This will be a match that not only shows how much Liverpool have changed after seven years under Klopp, but can also show the potential for strong growth in the coming seasons.

Hong Duy