After years of hard work and perseverance, the beautiful city of Liverpool is finally embracing a change in the landscape of football. The fans, now have an unending belief that their favourite club is not only the most competitive team in the world, but also serious title-contenders this season.
Considering the mentality of Jürgen Klopp to bring quality players, the arrivals of Naby Keita and Fabinho has bolstered the squad with enough depth.
With Nabil Fekir rumoured to enter the frame anytime soon, the Charismatic German is pulling off all the stops to challenge for the Premier League trophy next season.
The Reds impressed the football world with their quality and only lost five games in the 2017/18 season, scoring 86 goals and conceding only 38. The side also managed to keep 17 clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
The hunger and desire among the players under Klopp’s umbrella is significant, and will only grow as the manager continues to push his team to the top of English football.
On a personal note, this Liverpool side could probably be one of the best-assembled sides in the club’s history and there are many reasons attached to it for you to know.
So, without further ado, here are the five reasons why Liverpool is the most dangerous side in the world today.
#1 Klopp’s ability to turn average players into world-class performers
Despite suffering initially in the season due to lack of coordination between the defenders, Jürgen Klopp’s mentality to give opportunities to his players proved to be fulfilling.
While the signing of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton was influential in changing the landscape of the club, some new players also added their inputs as well.
Players like Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Andy Robertson have been fantastic this season, with Robertson and Alexander-Arnold becoming fan-favourites.
Liverpool have tremendously improved defensively and are able to successfully dominate their opponents when they carry the ball forward.
With 17 clean sheets this season, the defenders were able to block counter-attacks of their opponents and blocked 176 shots, with a tackle success rate of 76%.
Considering how lacklustre Liverpool’s defence was in the start of the season, the side improved and exceeded expectations in the later stage of the season.
The Reds were able to win a total of 2,565 aerial battles on the field and were successful in making the right interceptions, with precise clearances.
Robertson and Alexander-Arnold who play as left-back and right-back respectively, have often changed the game on their own by leading the counter-attack by themselves.
Robertson’s performance against Manchester City in their side’s epic victory will always be remembered as one of the best in Liverpool’s history.
Klopp has definitely transitioned these players to world-class defenders and has managed to fix their defence without making any significant alterations.
The side was also able to stop Real Madrid on many occasions in the final of the Champions League, by making Ronaldo look like an ordinary player.
Loris Karius, who was criticized immensely for his weak keeping skills during the Champions League Final went on to cement his position in history, with the most number of clean sheets in this season.
If this Liverpool team continues to play with the same work-rate this season, there’s no team that can stop them. Unlocking Liverpool’s defence is becoming difficult now.
#2 The signings of Naby Keita, Nabil Fekir, Shaqiri, and Fabinho will make them unstoppable
There’s no denying that Liverpool, as a team, are strong enough to participate in the biggest European competitions and win them.
However, the side’s midfield was an issue in the last season. While guys like Henderson, Milner, Can and Wijnaldum have been great, the team needed a real game changer.
The side had a passing accuracy of around 84% with an average of 604.26 per game in the Premier League season. While the side played total football, the Reds were still lacking depth in the squad.
James Milner went on to become the king of assists in Champions League having assisted record nine times and cemented his name in history with the most assists in a single Champions League campaign.
Coutinho’s unfortunate departure to Barcelona left Liverpool with a real playmaker that could move and create the chances for the team to claim victory.
Enter Naby Keita and Fabinho. Naby Keita is one of the most talented midfielders on the planet and has the ability to shift the game on his own. He has been highly successful in Bundesliga and will follow the footsteps of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard this season, by rocking the No. 8 jersey.
Considering that Liverpool’s front trio are so efficient with the ball, Fabinho and Keita’s inclusion provides the side with enough depth to challenge for the EPL title.
While Fabinho is a defensive midfielder, Keita likes to move the ball from his own half. The Guinean is a genius and would bring more agility to the side.
Xherdan Shaqiri, who is highly respected in the world of football has also joined the Liverpool squad, which now makes them an unstoppable side.
The rumour mill is still swirling with reports suggesting that Nabil Fekir could be on his way to Liverpool, despite Lyon’s initial refusal. The Frenchman appeared in 28 games for Lyon in 2017/18 and was able to decide the game multiple times by scoring 18 goals and making decisive assists.
With Liverpool bringing such talented players on board, one can only wonder how this side will shape when the Premier League comes rolling this summer. Expect an unstoppable counter-attack.
#3 The Liverpool front three are absolutely devastating
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino are an integral part of what Liverpool symbolises today. The heavy metal football continues to be the thing for Liverpool as they look forward to delivering something exceptional this season too.
The front three players of Liverpool are magical with their precision and technique on the ball. All the three attackers have proved their worth and have been absolutely merciless to their opponents.
The trio have scored a total of 87 goals this season, with a landmark 30 goals coming from UEFA Champions League campaign.
Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and the Egyptian King Mohamed Salah, are now the highest-scoring trio for a single club in the Champions League campaign. Many football pundits are considering this trio to be Liverpool’s best ever and with Jurgen Klopp’s tactics doing wonders, Liverpool are serious title contenders now.
Considering how incredible the side was, Salah went on to score 48 goals this season from 57 appearances and assisted 14 times. With Salah breaking the all-time goal scoring record this season, one wonders what awaits us this season when the team is provided with more depth.
While Coutinho’s heartbreaking departure left a huge void to the side, the awesome trio took the charge and brought real intensity to the heart of Anfield. Having scored two goals in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Roma, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino is now level with Inter’s Adriano as the fastest player to score ten Champions League goals in a single season.
Since the side has always been criticized for not delivering when it matters, this perhaps could be the moment when Liverpool finally wins a silverware.
#4 They humiliated the 2017-18 winners on multiple occasions
There’s no denying that Manchester City played total football and decimated the rest of the teams to claim the EPL title in a record-breaking season.
A team that played total football ascended to the top of English football with Pep Guardiola managing to take Manchester City to another stratosphere of play-making.
Moreover, the side was regarded as invincible in the initial stages of the season until 14th January 2018; the day Liverpool broke Manchester City’s invincibility and made an in-your-face statement to EPL’s best side.
Goals from Oxlade-Chamberlain, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah led Liverpool to a thrilling victory over Pep Guardiola’s side. This wasn’t the only time a victory of this magnitude happened. Both the sides were drawn to clash in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The Reds, this time around, not only went ahead to the semi-finals but completely humiliated England’s best side in both the legs.
While Liverpool, unfortunately, lost the Champions League Final to Real Madrid, the side was bestowed upon with a lot of respect and adulation due to their hard-attacking mentality.
#5 Last season’s Champions League run shows what they can do
While a side’s dominance is usually measured by the trophies they preserve in their cabinets, but Liverpool went the other way around and defined another kind of football for legions of its supporters.
The Reds were perhaps the most dominant English team to step up in the Champions League competition this season when most of the critics never even considered them to survive the knockout rounds.
Liverpool also broke many records this season in the UCL, with the Reds becoming the only club, besides Bayern Munich, to score seven twice in one competition.
The Reds also broke the all-time records of goals scored by a club in a single UCL season. The side scored 47 goals in 15 games, with an average of 3.13 goals per season. Klopp’s side went on to humiliate their opponents on multiple levels and became the first English side in almost 8 years to reach the Champions League Final.
Despite losing to Real Madrid, in what could have been Karius’ silly mistakes, the Reds still dominated and felt like a big European team.
Many football fans all around the world believed that Liverpool was the only side who could dethrone Real Madrid this season and that speaks a lot about the team’s strength as a whole.
Jurgen Klopp and his army took Liverpool to their first Champions League Final in almost 12 years, and with Keita, Fabinho, Shaqiri, and possibly Nabil Fekir, the side is ready to win the big one this time around.
