Liverpool's Reign As Premier League Kings Is Over
(Photo via goal.com)
With a 1-0 loss at Anfield to 4th place Chelsea this afternoon, Liverpool have now lost five consecutive home matches for the first time in club history.
Everything started going South for the Reds after they fell to Burnley 1-0, snapping a 68-game unbeaten run at Anfield in the process. Since then, the defending Premier League champions have lost seven of their last thirteen matches including a 4-1 rout vs Manchester City, a 1-0 loss to 16th place Brighton & Hove Albion, and a 1-0 loss to 14th place Southampton.
Finally, the Liverpool we all love and miss. The Reds have dominated the Premier League alongside Manchester City ever since their nearly perfect 30-7-1 season back in 2018. Facing world-class players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil Van Dijk led by Jurgen Klopp twice a season has been a nightmare for English football clubs for some time now.
As good as Klopp’s squad may be on paper, this recent slump appears to be an emphatic ending to their reign as kings of the Premier League.
After today’s loss to Chelsea, Liverpool have fallen from the top four and now sit at 7th -- below both Everton and West Ham -- with 43 points. This was a massive turning point for both the Blues and the Reds as now Chelsea has leapfrogged into the top four while Liverpool’s chances are looking bleak.
In a post-game presser after a gut wrenching 3-1 defeat against Leicester City, Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp verbally conceded the 2020/2021 title saying they are out of reach at this point in the season.
How ironic would it be for the defending league champions to go from worrying about their title chances to now worrying about their top-four chances at best? I’m sure Liverpool fans would hate to read this, but EVERY other premier league fan, myself included, is gathered around singing Kumbaya right now rejoicing in the fact that the champions-league winning squad could be falling apart.
Personally, I think it’s too soon for any harsh decisions to be made within the club’s board of directors, but some fans are encouraging Liverpool to sack Klopp after an extremely disappointing premier league campaign. On top of that, there have been rumors that the face of the franchise, Mohamed Salah, is unhappy at the club and has been linked to Real Madrid and Barcelona for a summer move.
If Liverpool somehow manage to sign Erling Haaland from Dortmund this summer transfer window, I think they’ll be a-okay. If not, this Jurgen Klopp squad that has won a Champions League title, Club World Cup Championship, and Premier League title together could look a lot different next season.
As I said before, I think it’s too early to make any rash decisions regarding Liverpool’s future and transfer market moves. This team is certainly not what it was even a year ago, but you can’t just go sacking everyone after one slump in the last three seasons. As painful as this is for me to say -- Liverpool will be back.