Klopp at Liverpool, Season 9: LFC 2.0, an unwanted January jolt and the end of an epic Anfield era

This is the final part in our series charting Jurgen Klopp’s nine seasons at Liverpool from his 2015 arrival to his departure from Anfield. Having missed out on Champions League football after a chastening season, at the end of which several stalwarts had moved on, the summer of 2023 would witness the most discernible period […]

The post Klopp at Liverpool, Season 9: LFC 2.0, an unwanted January jolt and the end of an epic Anfield era appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

This is the final part in our series charting Jurgen Klopp’s nine seasons at Liverpool from his 2015 arrival to his departure from Anfield.

Having missed out on Champions League football after a chastening season, at the end of which several stalwarts had moved on, the summer of 2023 would witness the most discernible period of change at Liverpool for some time.

The arrival of Alexis Mac Allister within a fortnight of the previous campaign ending started the midfield revolution, with Dominik Szoboszlai signed at the start of July. Those captures were offset by the abrupt departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia, while the lengthy pursuits of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo proved futile as both joined Chelsea.

However, there were two more midfielders added before the transfer window shut, with Wataru Endo a surprise and understated acquisition from Stuttgart, and Ryan Gravenberch joining from Bayern Munich on deadline day. Jurgen Klopp labelled his new-look team ‘Liverpool 2.0‘, and it felt like an apt description.

After several years of shooting for the stars, the Reds began the 2023/24 season with their sights set a bit lower – simply getting back into the Champions League was the aim.

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In contrast to the previous campaign, Liverpool got off to a flying start, with five successive wins following on from an opening day draw at Chelsea. That sequence included a dramatic victory away to Newcastle, with a Darwin Nunez double turning a 1-0 deficit in the 80th minute into a 2-1 triumph over the Magpies.

The Reds shipped their first defeat of the season away to Tottenham at the end of September, but the 2-1 scoreline doesn’t begin to tell the story of a hugely controversial match. LFC had two players sent off, with Curtis Jones harshly dismissed.

Luis Diaz also had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out for offside, and a subsequent VAR review somehow failed to overturn the on-field decision. Liverpool were so apoplectic that they published a statement claiming that ‘sporting integrity’ had been ‘undermined’.

Once that storm had subsided, Klopp’s team continued to pick up points at a healthy rate in the Premier League, although there some disappointing draws over the autumn, including one at Luton in which the Colombian – whose father was in captivity at the time – scored a stoppage time equaliser.

Liverpool had made an unwelcome habit of going behind in matches, but their powers of recovery were impressive. They rescued a late point away to Manchester City, scored twice in the last five minutes to beat Fulham 4-3 and netted a 90th-minute winner against Crystal Palace.

Their 100% record at Anfield was ended in excruciating fashion as Manchester United held on for a goalless draw despite facing 34 shots, and Arsenal also claimed a point in L4 a week later as Martin Odegaard got away with a blatant handball inside his team’s penalty area.

The New Year began with league wins over Newcastle and Bournemouth, an FA Cup victory away to the Gunners and a tense Carabao Cup semi-final triumph against Fulham, but 26 January 2024 witnessed a shock to the system like no other for LFC fans.

That was the date on which Klopp announced that he’d be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, saying that he was ‘running out of energy’ after nearly a decade as the club’s manager. The tremors were so forceful because, in an era where football news is often well known before being officially confirmed, there were no portents that this bombshell announcement was coming.

The 56-year-old’s team responded to the news in the best possible manner by winning five of their next six games in the following four weeks, scoring 21 goals in the process. The one blemish was a 3-1 defeat to title rivals Arsenal in early February.

A second Carabao Cup final against Chelsea in three years awaited, but it was a patched-up Reds squad which travelled to Wembley, with a spate of injuries to key players such as Mo Salah, Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai and Nunez forcing Klopp to turn to several youngsters.

Conor Bradley was now a starter in the team, while Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns all came off the bench, but it was an experienced head (literally) who provided the decisive moment, with Virgil van Dijk nodding home the only goal of a tense final late in extra time.

Liverpool celebrated unreservedly, with their manager later describing it as the one match that he ‘enjoyed’ more than any other during this time in charge, given the adverse circumstances they had to overcome. It meant that his final season would be marked with a trophy, and the Reds were still in the frame to win three more.

A 99th-minute Nunez winner at Nottingham Forest and a commanding performance in drawing 1-1 against Man City kept LFC firmly in the Premier League title hunt, but their FA Cup hopes were ended by a galling 4-3 defeat after extra time away to Man United.

Erik ten Hag’s side were enduring a torrid season but their knack for discommoding Klopp’s team reared its head again in early April when they claimed an undeserved 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

That result triggered a horrendous three-week period for Liverpool in which they took just four points from their subsequent four league games, thus seeing their title charge evaporate, while also exiting the Europa League after a tame surrender to a very good Atalanta side.

That April demise meant that, when the final three matches of the campaign had rolled around, there was nothing but pride on the line, as the Reds had still done enough to meet their pre-season objective of qualifying for the Champions League.

When Wolves comes to Anfield today, the home fans can concentrate solely on showing their appreciation for the greatest manager Liverpool have had in decades. The match itself is almost a sideshow to what’ll come after the final whistle, when unthinkably we have to say goodbye to this glorious German.

When he took over in October 2015, he promised to turn ‘doubters into believers‘. He did just that (and more) by taking this proud club back to the summit of English and European football, all while forging an incredible affection with (and from) players and supporters.

‘And now, the end is near, and so [we] face the final curtain’ – you’ll probably recognise this as the opening line from a well-known Frank Sinatra song. One thing is for certain; when it comes to Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, he did it his way, and for that we’re eternally grateful.

We’re so glad that Jurgen was a red and delivered what he said. Actually, he delivered so much more than that.

Farewell to an all-time LFC legend, and thank you for everything.

In case you’ve missed them, you can check out previous episodes of the series:

2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23

READ MORE: The evolution of Liverpool’s starting XI under Jurgen Klopp

The post Klopp at Liverpool, Season 9: LFC 2.0, an unwanted January jolt and the end of an epic Anfield era appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.