Liverpool officially lost their grasp on the Premier League trophy on Tuesday after Manchester City were confirmed as champions. In truth, their title defence had come to a grinding halt some time ago.
The Reds have found life tough coping with an unprecedented injury crisis in defence caused their season to unravel. While there is some sympathy attributed to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez’s long-term absences, in other areas they have fallen short.
Jurgen Klopp could be been forgiven for rubbing his eyes in disbelief when his side lost six straight games at Anfield in the league, having witnessed his side valiantly defend a 63-game unbeaten record across the previous three-and-a-half years.
With Liverpool in free-fall and sliding down to eighth position, the German found himself under pressure and fielding questions about his future for the first time since he arrived at the club six years ago.
They are some 33 points behind Man City, showing the sudden gap between the two clubs. But there has been a slight reprieve in their fortunes on the pitch and the Merseyside outfit have a glimmer of hope of qualifying for the Champions League next season, though the Europa League is more likely.
Whether they achieve it or not, Klopp will be under no illusions about the task of repairing and revamping his squad for the 2021/22 season.
Mirror Sport take a look at what the Liverpool boss would have learned from their failed title defence…
1. Champions can't sit still
When you experience success, everyone wants to beat you. And this year, Liverpool have struggled with the notion of every team giving an extra five per cent of effort when going up against them.
With this in mind, the club may have been guilty of some tunnel vision in failing to act when their rivals were making significant improvements to challenge for the title.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their finances unquestionably affected Liverpool’s attempts to bolster their options, only bringing in Diogo Jota and Thiago Alcantara for a total outlay of £61m.
But they also lost some key components of their title success, even if they weren’t obvious, when they sold Dejan Lovren and released Adam Lallana. They also cashed in on Rhian Brewster and let Takumi Minamino leave on loan without replacing the pair.
Compare that to Chelsea, who splashed out £240m signing Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and more. Even Manchester City delved into the market to sign two centre-backs for £100m — and few could argue Ruben Dias has been one of the signings of the season.
If Liverpool become champions next season, they will know they cannot afford to rest on their laurels again while their rivals grow stronger.
2. Rotation is key
Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have made 46 appearances in all competitions, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have featured 44 times, Trent Alexander-Arnold 41 and Fabinho 37, despite his injury problems.
Now look to the bench and Klopp will notice Divock Origi has been handed only 393 minutes in the Premier League and Champions League, and just two substitute appearances in the FA Cup.
Another glance and there is Xherdan Shaqiri, who has made 21 appearances but the majority of these have been from the bench. Naby Keita, owing to a series of injuries and a worrying dip in confidence, has only 16 appearances under his belt.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a regular for Liverpool three seasons ago. This campaign, he’s featured for 263 minutes across the Premier League and Champions League, despite being fit enough for the bench since December.
Yet it was Origi who scored twice in that famous win over Barcelona. It was Keita who delivered some crucial goals in their title-winning campaign. It was Oxlade-Chamberlain who provided those lung-busting runs from midfield when no one else would.
What this suggests is that Klopp no longer trusts his some of his squad members to produce the goods when he needs to rest his star men. If that is the case, the Liverpool boss will need to make some tough decisions on their futures.
3. Planning for the future
Football is cyclical and it’s only a matter of time before deciding whether to prepare for the cycle to change or react after it happens. In the case of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah there are already signs their powers are slightly declining.
Indeed, Mane conceded earlier this week that it had been his "worst-ever season" and the statistics back up his statement, with only eight league goals. Salah has had no such trouble in front of goal and leads the scoring charts, but the Egyptian's form has arrived in waves.
Their contributions to Liverpool’s success will go down in history, but no player is impervious to the effects of ageing. Mane is 29, Salah will reach that age in June and Roberto Firmino will turn 30 later this year, and it is fair to say Liverpool fans may have seen their best years already.
With Jota already showing signs he can follow in their lead with eight goals from 17 appearances, Klopp may consider assembling a new attacking trio if some handsome offers arrive for either Mane or Salah this summer.
4. Having a Plan B is crucial
If football is more tactical now than it’s ever been, managers must be able to show they can adapt to various scenarios during matches.
Evidently, this has been central to Thomas Tuchel’s success at Chelsea. Klopp may disagree, but the 53-year-old perhaps could learn something from his compatriot's pragmatic style of coaching.
While Tuchel often sticks with his favoured 3-4-3 setup, it is rarely contains the same personnel or style of play. It can centre around deploying a ‘false nine’ like Havertz or a target man such as Olivier Giroud. There are several plans to choose from and it keeps his managerial counterparts guessing.
In contrast, Liverpool’s tried and trusted 4-3-3 may be effective 80 per cent of the time but when teams use a three-man defence to snuff out their front three, there is no alternative gameplan. Liverpool have struggled to create chances this season as a result.
Is it time Klopp opened up his tactical playbook and made changes? On the evidence of this season, a fresh approach may be required.
