Having been surprised, stunned and shocked at various points of a term that included losses at Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Brighton and Wolves, the humbling at City was the one that, ultimately, proved to be something of a watershed for Jurgen Klopp.
By April 1, the reserves of anger and frustration at such humiliation had almost evaporated within a wearying fanbase who were instead reluctantly forced to accept just how far behind the eventual treble winners their team had fallen. The ignominy of it all was best encapsulated by Arthur Melo happily shaking hands with City boss Pep Guardiola as he celebrated his team’s equaliser by jumping in the face of Kostas Tsimikas. The on-loan Brazilian wore the expression of a competition winner, simply happy to just be part of the festivities after his own nightmare season on Merseyside.
It was perhaps never any clearer than the aftermath of that Etihad drubbing that a once great team of 2018-2022 had finally reached its unnatural end. “I know what I need to do,” Klopp said in his post-match press conference.
In hindsight it’s possible that the manager was speaking both from a short and long-term perspective. His team remained unbeaten in their final 11 games after some frank talks, home truths and tactical tweaks. It’s nearly eight months since their last visit to see Guardiola and only one defeat since, which was September’s cruel and controversial 2-1 loss at Tottenham that saw two men harshly sent off, a 96th-minute own goal and the most egregious officiating mistake of the VAR era in the Premier League.
Since that demoralising day, only City have taken more Premier League points than the Reds too, with Klopp’s men picking up 52 points from their 23 games played during that time. For two clubs who have spent much of the five years battling it out for supremacy at the top of English football, that both head into the weekend’s fixtures as first and second suggests it is a rivalry that has been renewed once more.
Liverpool have been rejuvenated under Klopp since the start of April with the hybrid positional move of Trent Alexander-Arnold dovetailing well with a new-look midfield department that includes the summer signings of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch. At the back, Virgil van Dijk’s performances and underlying numbers have many believing the Liverpool captain is nearing the peak of his powers once more, while the front five at Klopp’s disposal – including the majestic Mohamed Salah – have rattled in 35 goals between them. At least one of the five have scored in every game.
Across the entire squad, there are feel-good factors and positive omens ahead of what represents their toughest away-day of the Premier League campaign for Liverpool. It was a November trip to the Etihad eight years ago that really rolled out the blueprint for what the free-flowing, swashbuckling Klopp era could look like when his side romped to a 4-1 win in east Manchester.
And while it would be unrealistic to demand something similar this time out, another victory would provide an even more sizable statement than that one of 2015 as Klopp looks to put in more building blocks towards the assembly of his next great team at Anfield. Quite how revered that previous iteration is viewed in the years and decades to come outside of the Reds’ bubble is tinged by the presence of Guardiola’s City, who have won four of the last five Premier League titles. Had Klopp’s men not been competing with a juggernaut that has been purpose built for perfection by the billions of Abu Dhabi, Liverpool’s list of honours across the last five years would be even more decorated than it is having been pipped for two titles on the final day by one point apiece in 2019 and 2022.
The merits of that, of course, will perhaps always be debated, particularly as supporters and the media await significant developments of the 115 charges that have been laid at the Etihad door regarding Financial Fair Play. Those allegations, which are of course robustly denied, are from the seasons of 2009/10 to 2017/18 inclusive.
But while that technically means their recent skirmishes with Liverpool are outside of the period being investigated, there can be little doubt that such success across that decade enabled them to entice players and managers of the calibre of those who helped City edge out Liverpool more often than not in recent years. Klopp and his staff may keep their grievances private while the situation plays out but it should not be characterised as tribalistic nonsense when others point it out. Everton’s 10-point deduction last week for a breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules has brought the topic of the City allegations back into the forefront of the thinking and more than five years since they first came to light in German newspaper Der Spiegel, football followers continue to wait with baited breath. Perhaps none more so than Liverpool.
Until then, the show goes on and the sporting brilliance of the current English and European champions will continue to see many blind eyes turned to the 115-charge elephant in the room. For Liverpool, though, Saturday is an opportunity to show how far they have really come since they were last floored by Man City.
In what was a campaign full of slugs to the gut, Liverpool’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City was the one that truly knocked them to the canvas last season.
