So, here we go.
The last few days at Liverpool may have been dominated by talk of Xabi Alonso opting to stay at Bayer Leverkusen but the football returns in earnest tomorrow, with the game against Brighton marking the beginning of the end of Jurgen Klopp’s near-nine-year reign as Liverpool manager.
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Klopp has 10 Premier League games remaining — five at Anfield, five on the road — and up to five Europa League ties as he tries to end his time in charge with a unique treble of trophies, having already lifted the Carabao Cup last month.
The coming weeks promise drama, emotion and, potentially, a fairytale finish for the most transformative manager of Liverpool’s modern era. But what is the mood inside the club as the finale approaches, and how well set are Liverpool as they try to give their manager the perfect send-off?
Let The Athletic’s Liverpool writers James Pearce and Andy Jones be your guides…
What’s the mood inside the club?
James Pearce: Excited. Eager. Expectant. No more international breaks and – regardless of all the headlines around Alonso since Thursday – no more distractions. This is the business end of the season and there’s so much to play for as they look to add Premier League and Europa League glory to their Carabao Cup final triumph.
Dreams of a quadruple may have been dashed by that FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, but players and staff are adamant the impact of that match hasn’t lingered. Klopp had always felt that a clean sweep of the four competitions wasn’t realistic given the demands of the fixture schedule and if something had to give, the FA Cup was the one to go.
There’s an acceptance that handling the emotion will be increasingly pivotal as Klopp’s farewell in May looms large. The manager’s announcement in January that he will step down at the end of the season brought everyone even closer together and the hope is that sense of unity and burning collective desire to end this glittering era in style continues to propel them forward.
In captain Virgil van Dijk, they have a leader who exudes calmness under pressure, and this is a period when his influence is going to be crucial, especially on the youngsters in the squad.
There’s a belief internally that the March international break came at a good time for Liverpool after such an energy-sapping run of matches.
Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, neither of whom played in the three combined games Egypt and Uruguay respectively had, were able to rest and recover. The injury situation has started to clear, with Klopp’s options enhanced for the run-in.
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Have the recent off-field changes affected things at all?
Pearce: No. The structure for the next era at Liverpool is taking shape away from the club’s Kirkby training base.
Senior Anfield figures have been determined to ensure that nothing detracts from the team’s pursuit of more silverware. They want the focus on the here and now.
It was telling that the announcement of Richard Hughes as their sporting director was made during the international break. The return of Michael Edwards, after being appointed CEO of football for Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group earlier this month, wasn’t even mentioned on the club website until after Klopp had reacted to the news in a press conference.
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Officially, Edwards and Hughes don’t start in those roles until June 1, which will be after Klopp has gone, but there’s plenty of work going on behind the scenes already, with Bournemouth’s chief scout Mark Burchill and scout Craig McKee expected to follow Hughes from that club to Merseyside.
Of course, the players are keen to learn the identity of the next manager, particularly now that Alonso, the early frontrunner, is out of the running. It’s natural they will want to hear where they stand, especially those whose contract situations need addressing.
However, there’s an acceptance among all parties that there’s a Premier League to be won first.
The injury situation is clearing up, you say…
Andy Jones: Things had been going smoothly during the international break until Andy Robertson limped off during Scotland’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Northern Ireland on Tuesday night and required a scan for a potential ankle injury.
However, the club received a major boost on Thursday with the news that Robertson avoided serious injury. Scan results on Robertson’s ankle showed no bone or ligament damage, and the left-back is expected to be sidelined for days rather than weeks.
This means the options available to Klopp continue to grow. Ibrahima Konate, who had missed Liverpool’s two most recent matches with an apparent hamstring injury, got 90 minutes in for France on Tuesday; Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who picked up knocks against Manchester United, were able to play twice for the Netherlands and Colombia respectively.
Of the other missing players, Ryan Gravenberch had already resumed first-team training before the international break. Curtis Jones appears most likely to be the next one back, though Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota are also close to returning.
The biggest question mark is around goalkeeper Alisson, whose comeback date is still unclear after almost two full months out with a hamstring injury, but Caoimhin Kelleher has stepped up so his absence has not been felt as greatly as would have been expected.
Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip, Thiago and Ben Doak remain longer-term absentees.
What else happened in the international break?
Jones: Liverpool’s internationals returned unscathed. Gomez (103 minutes played in two appearances) made his return to the England squad after not being capped since October 2020. His fellow defender Conor Bradley (173 minutes) scored his first senior international goal as Northern Ireland beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
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Long-distance travel has caused problems previously with players returning close to the next Liverpool match due to the locations of their country’s games. That should not be the case this time.
As mentioned, Salah and Nunez did not go away at all, while Diaz (157 minutes) played for Colombia in London and Madrid rather than having to fly to and back from South America.
The second match of Japan’s scheduled World Cup qualifying double-header away against North Korea got postponed, so Wataru Endo (32 minutes) only played as a second-half substitute in the first game in Tokyo last weekend. Alexis Mac Allister (77 minutes) piled up the miles too — to Philadelphia and Los Angeles in the United States — for Argentina’s two friendlies, scoring in the latter against Costa Rica.
Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai played all 180 minutes for the Netherlands and Hungary respectively, while Tsimikas put in an additional 30 on Tuesday as his Greece side lost to Georgia on penalties in their European Championship play-off final. Gakpo (97 minutes for the Dutch), Kelleher (90 minutes for the Republic of Ireland against Belgium) and the aforementioned Konate also racked up senior-side minutes.
Of the club’s notable age-group internationals, Harvey Elliott (164 minutes) starred for England Under-21s, scoring twice in a 5-1 away win against Azerbaijan, then providing two assists in the 7-0 home win over Luxembourg. Jarell Quansah (90 minutes) also featured in the latter match.
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How does Liverpool’s run-in compare to those of their title rivals?
Jones: Liverpool’s run-in looks relatively favourable. One bonus is they don’t have to face either Manchester City or Arsenal, whereas those two face off this weekend in their first match back after the international break, meaning at least one of them will drop points.
Liverpool do have a number of tough-looking away matches: visits to Manchester United and Everton frequently pose difficulties, while the other three, at Aston Villa, West Ham and Fulham, are all potentially treacherous. All three title contenders play six of the current top 10; while City and Arsenal host fourth-placed Villa, they both have to go to fifth-placed Tottenham, who Liverpool get to play at Anfield.
The Opta Power Rankings, which assess the difficulty of each remaining fixture, have Liverpool and City with three hard, four medium and three easy games (though one of Liverpool’s three is an away Merseyside derby), and Arsenal on four hard, also four medium and only two easy.
The respective European fixtures have to be considered too.
Liverpool got a favourable Europa League quarter-final draw against Atalanta, sixth in Italy’s Serie A, which City (Real Madrid) and Arsenal (Bayern Munich) did not in the Champions League — and they may yet have to play each other twice more in a week in that competition’s semi-finals starting at the end of next month.
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What’s the biggest challenge facing Liverpool in these final two months?
Jones: Liverpool’s FA Cup exit means the upcoming schedule has eased slightly, with one fewer midweek game as the trip to Fulham on semi-finals weekend can stay where it is. However, if Liverpool progress to the Europa League final, their Thursday-Sunday fixtures will continue to provide congestion and short turnarounds.
The biggest challenge is staying consistent and dealing with the pressure. Liverpool still have winners of the 2019-20 title in their squad, but the number of them has dwindled in recent seasons. A title race of this magnitude, requiring near-perfection, is not something many of the club’s newer signings are used to.
There is also the added element of it being Klopp’s last chance to win the Premier League again. That can work to the players’ advantage, but it certainly raises the stakes even higher than normal.
Which player needs to step up if Liverpool are to achieve their goals?
Jones: Liverpool’s squad has been shredded by injuries in recent months, so there are several players either set to return or in need of match minutes to rebuild fitness and get back to their top level. That makes this a trickier question than normal.
Van Dijk has been imperious while Salah once again leads the goal contributions table by some distance. Their performance levels must remain sky-high for Liverpool to fulfil their ambitions.
Of those who have been playing, most are in good rhythm and form. Gakpo feels like the obvious exception but wider criticism has been unfair. If he can find the flow that he had shown earlier in his Liverpool career, Klopp will be able to call on five top strikers.
It does feel like this could be a defining period for Nunez, too. He has made big strides this season and if he continues this form — and doesn’t try ill-advised passes in his own half — he could be the key to success.
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Finally, a prediction: how many trophies will Liverpool win this season?
Pearce: Three. The return to fitness of key personnel should give Liverpool an extra edge. With Atalanta in the last eight and then either Benfica or Marseille in the semis, the Europa League has opened up. The prospect of Klopp’s farewell taking place in Dublin on May 22 against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen is enticing.
Winning the Premier League title will be harder given it’s a tight three-way battle with Arsenal and Manchester City. The margin for error is small with tricky hurdles to clear, but their rivals have tougher European assignments to navigate. I fancy Liverpool’s resilience to get them over the line.
Jones: Two — and that’s very much the pessimist in me, scarred by previous close title run-ins.
Liverpool can win the league, but the twists and turns could go any way. The Europa League draw feels very kind and sets up the perfect send-off for Klopp — marking his final game as manager (the final in the Irish city of Dublin on May 22) with one last trophy.
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(Top photos: Getty Images)