Liverpool FC was a legendary Steven Gerrard slip away from their first Premier League title in in the 2013/14 season. 2015/16 didn’t go as well, as the team was out of the league title and race for the Champions League even before the turn of the year.
Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in World Football, and should regularly be competing for the top honors. Below are five things manager Jurgen Klopp can do to make this Liverpool side compete for the title in this upcoming season.
Find an identity
If the Liverpool team of 2013/14 and Leicester of 2015/16 showed us anything, it is that a footballing identity can take you to dizzying heights in the Premier League.
Player for player, these teams had no right to be anywhere near the top of the table, but their managers found a plan that accentuated their strengths and mitigated their weaknesses.
Liverpool won’t have the quality in depth that some of the other clubs have, but will go far if the Jurgen Klopp finds a plan that gets the most out of his players.
Keep Daniel Sturridge fit
Elite strikers are very scarce in the world these days, and Liverpool is lucky to have one in the Englishman Daniel Sturridge. When fit, Daniel Sturridge is right up there with Harry Kane and Kun Aguero as the top marksmen in England.
The problem, however, is that he’s injury prone. The chances of Liverpool competing properly this season is directly linked to how many games the former Chelsea and Manchester City striker is fit for.
Rotate the midfield properly
To keep the players fresh and motivated, Jurgen Klopp has to find a way to rotate his midfielders.
The likes of Wijnaldum, Henderson, Emre Can, Coutinho, Firmino, Mane, Milner will all be competing for limited positions, and Klopp will need to keep everybody fit and interested in improving the team’s chances this season.
Keep the ship tight at the back
Ultimately, the Liverpool team failed in 2014/15 due to the sheer number of goals they conceded and became the first team to score over 100 goals in England and still fail to win the title.
The Reds led the league in errors leading to goals last season, and unlike 2013/14, they will not have the goals of Suarez to make up for that, so they will need to be more solid defensively.
Forget the Domestic Cups
In 2013/14, Liverpool did not have any European distractions, and they exited the domestic cups early, allowing them adequate rest before match days.
It isn’t a coincidence that Liverpool blitzed most teams in the first 20 minutes of matches on their game to the top of the standings. From what we witnessed in the second half of last season, it is evident that Jurgen Klopp will take every game seriously, regardless of the competition, but the truth is, they might be better served focusing on going as far as possible in the League, instead of trying to juggle three competitions.