It has been quite the year for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. Ninety-eight Premier League points – with just one defeat in that – three trophies, and one hand seemingly on the trophy that they have been craving for the past 30 years.
Yet, the Liverpool manager wants more. He knows that the title race is not over until it is over. Klopp must ensure that Liverpool don’t regress in 2020, and keep up their dominance.
Jurgen Klopp Must Ensure Liverpool Do Not Regress in 2020
A Sensational Year
It is almost a year to the day since Liverpool’s last defeat in the Premier League. It was a defeat that ultimately caused them to prolong their wait for a Premier League title victory, as they lost 2-1 to Manchester City.
So far this season, Liverpool have looked every inch a title-winning side. Spectacular performances have been paired with ones where they have looked below par. Yet, that is what has become part of Jurgen Klopp’s mantra: win at all cost, no matter how it comes.
The 2019/20 season has seen the Reds win by a single goal nine times. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United‘s team were famed for narrow, scrappy victories; now it seems that fortune has been shared to their arch-rivals.
The highlight for Liverpool in 2019, though, is not their successes in England, but in Europe and across the globe instead.
A Club World Cup victory was the pinnacle of their 2019, where two more narrow victories saw Jurgen Klopp’s side lift the trophy.
However, their journey to Qatar was undoubtedly their highlight of the year. A UEFA Champions League final victory in Madrid was the culmination of an epic run to the illustrious stage. A victory in Munich to seal their place in the quarter-finals, looking down and out in Barcelona after a 3-0 defeat, before staging the most incredible comeback in the second leg of the semi-final against Barcelona. It has been quite the year for the Reds.
Must Ensure Dominance Continues In 2020
All over Liverpool’s hard work could come undone if they slip up in 2020.
Jurgen Klopp will look towards his rivals Manchester City as an example. City have slipped up in 2019, partly due to the pressure of Liverpool, and partly due to their cycle of their current squad coming to an end. While Pep Guardiola may still be eyeing the Champions League, they will now be compared to Liverpool as second best.
As a result, Liverpool must ensure the same does not happen to them. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Klopp knows he has to maintain his squad and its freshness. While that contains making signings to a degree, it also means promoting from the academy – something of which the Liverpool manager has done more than his City counterpart.
Should Jordan Henderson lift the Premier League trophy in May 2020 – an outcome that appears likely – then Liverpool can not afford to be complacent. Sides around them will look for change and try to catch up with them, and the Reds cannot stand still. Stand still, and they may end up in the same cycle as Manchester City.
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