A new era is upon Liverpool after a big summer overhaul. It was needed after a disappointing 2022/23 campaign but it will be interesting to see whether they have done too much or whether this new-look group can hit the ground running.
How the team did last season
In the end, the Reds claimed a fifth-placed finish. This didn’t look at all likely at the start of April after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal made it four matches without a win. A tweak to the system, however, saw Liverpool finish the season on an 11-game unbeaten run and this was enough for a Europa League spot.
It was a season of frustration for Klopp’s side. Injuries played a significant role, yet again, with Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and Roberto Firmino, Thiago and Virgil Van Dijk all missing chunks of the campaign.
The Reds struggled for consistency and it became quickly apparent that the midfield lacked legs early on in the campaign. At one stage, Klopp even dropped Jordan Henderson and Fabinho due to their performances.
Despite this inconsistency, Liverpool did record a historic 7-0 win over Manchester United at Anfield.
It was an eye-opening campaign for the German tactician and this played a part in the summer business.
Mohamed Salah, as usual, finished as the team’s top scorer with 19 in the Premier League. The No.11 also chipped in with 12 assists to take his goal involvement tally to 31. It is a remarkable return given he was playing in a frenetic and chaotic team for large parts of the season. It is no surprise to find out he topped the FotMob chart for Liverpool player ratings with an average of 7.46. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s finish to the season in his new inverted role saw his average climb to 7.45 though.
What has happened during the summer?
Quite a lot.
James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino all left on free transfers while the Reds decided to cash in on Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. The captain joined Al-Ettifaq while the Brazilian destroyer made the move to Al-Ittihad and he will now partner N’Golo Kante in midfield.
Fabio Carvalho was also loaned out to RB Leipzig for the season.
The Reds, so far, have signed just two players. World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister joined from Brighton for a fee believed to be in the region of £35million while Dominik Szoboszlai swapped Leipzig for Merseyside after the 2019/20 Premier League champions agreed to pay his £60million release clause.
What they should be aiming for next season?
A top-four finish is the bare minimum. Liverpool have enough quality, even with all of these changes to the midfield, to claim a Champions League spot. They have one of the best attacking units in Europe and there should be enough goals to see them pick up the wins needed to get back into Europe’s premier club competition.
Anything other than that will be, rightly, viewed as a failure.
Prediction
3rd.
(Images from IMAGO)
Think you know better than our Premier League expert? Then play the FotMob Predictor Game and decide where your team will finish this season! Find the game in the More tab of the FotMob app, which you can download, for free, right here.