Liverpool suffered a crushing Europa League defeat against Sevilla last night despite taking a first half lead. Daniel Sturridge’s world class finish came to no good use after the Spanish team scored three goals after the restart to win their third Europa League title in a row.
Since the full-time whistle in Basel, we have read several stories of how Jurgen Klopp lost his FIFTH cup final in a row and how Liverpool’s familiar woes came back to haunt them.
These stories will definitely begin to fizzle out as the weeks go by, because the work that Klopp has done in a short span of time with this squad is simply unbelievable.
Anfield club were going nowhere under Brendan Rodgers when the former Borussia Dortmund manager took over in December last year. Since then, The Reds have featured in two finals (Capital One Cup & Europa League) and have played some attractive football.
Club is indeed moving in the forward direction and while this Europa League loss will hurt the players and the fans, but this is nothing more than a little blip ahead of better times.
Klopp has already got Liverpool playing in his style which was evident in the first half last night where they outsmarted their Spanish rivals. Sevilla could not live with the pressing and high-tempo football from Klopp’s side.
However, things quickly turned for worse when Alberto Moreno slipped and was nutmegged for Sevilla’s first goal after only 19 second in the second half. Liverpool could not react to that early strike and that is where Klopp would need to work on his squad next season.
If Liverpool want to be amongst the elites of English and European football, they need to respond in adverse situations as well. Klopp will have a full pre-season and a transfer window at his disposal where he will need to strengthen his team’s core and add quality to the squad.
Mario Gotze is heavily tipped to join The Reds and if he does sign for Liverpool, it would open doors for Europe’s finest to join Klopp’s Anfield revolution.
The charismatic manager will have no European distraction next season which could take us back to the days of 2013/14 season where Liverpool were only playing for Premier League trophy but fell short right at the very end.
We could witness something similar next season where Klopp will only have to worry about domestic games and given how Liverpool have breezed past several of their opponents this season, they will be one of the strongest contenders for the league title.
Better times are certainly ahead for The Reds supporters, they need to be patient for just a little longer and keep their faith in Jurgen Klopp as he looks set to bring about a new era of success at Anfield.
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