Klopp’s first Liverpool season was always going to be a challenging one. He had taken over a side which had a tough 2014-15 campaign under Brendan Rodgers and were beginning to hit a wall, sitting down in 10th after Rodgers drew at Everton in his final game.
Klopp would lead the team to an underwhelming eighth-place finish, but there was a sense – as was the case when Rodgers himself first took the reins – that the team was moving in the right direction. A run to the final of the Europa League helped, but before that, there was a landmark win away to City… featuring a standout performance from summer signing Roberto Firmino. Signed from Hoffenheim in Rodgers’ last window, Firmino arrived with a reputation as a goal-getter who often operated from a withdrawn role. Those goals didn’t arrive under Rodgers, though, with none in his first 13 league and cup outings.
And yet, as soon as Klopp arrived, Firmino looked more at home. His first assists came under the German, in wins against Chelsea in the league and Rubin Kazan in Europe, and the first goal was surely just a matter of time away.
Sure enough, after knocking on the door in Klopp’s first few games, he made the breakthrough in a big way. So much so that some wondered aloud whether Firmino had actually been signed with the new boss in mind.
Every manager needs that one game to point to as the moment things began to take off for them, and in Jurgen Klopp’s case, that game came away to Manchester City in November 2015.
