22 Season Preview 2019-20 FourFourTwoLIVERPOOL
Thewidthofyourlittlefinger.Thediameterof
a keyboard button. Half a cashew nut. That was the
difference between winning the title for the first
time in 29 years and finishing an agonising second.
Had Sadio Mané’s shot-turned-goalmouth-scramble
travelled 1.12cm further to cross the Manchester City
goal-line and turn January’s 2-1 defeat into a draw,
the Premier League title and an unbeaten season was
Liverpool’s. No one ever said life at the top is easy.
It’s staggering that, with four months of the season
to go, events on January 3 effectively decided the
title. Ditto that the Reds dropped their final points inBUT, SERIOUSLY, IS IT GOInG
TO BE THEIR YEAR?
PREMIER LEAGUE
2019-20
a goalless derby draw with Everton on March 3, before
winning their last nine games. City had to win 14 on
the spin to retain the title, testament to the sustained
pressure Liverpool exerted. Bottlers? No chance.
While City may prioritise the Champions League in
2019-20, Liverpool’s main focus will be domestic. Yes,
a sixth European Cup was a considerable consolation,
but the Premier League is the trophy that the players,
coaches and fanbase now covet above all others.
That only minor alterations are needed highlights
the impressive work of sporting director Michael
Edwards. Liverpool continue to sell well: they’ve just
received £18m (rising to £20m) for Danny Ings, after
Dominic Solanke and Danny Ward left last season fora combined £31.5m, which helped to offset Liverpool’s
world-record investments in Virgil van Dijk and
Alisson, both of which paid off last season. Equally,
spiriting Mo Salah away from Roma for just £36.9m in
June 2017 was the greatest trick the devil has pulled
since convincing the world Keyser Soze didn’t exist.
With Alberto Moreno having gone back to Spain and
Dejan Lovren expected to leave as well, Liverpool
need some defensive cover, and maybe another
attacking midfielder-cum-forward to keep that stellar
Salah-Firmino-Mané triumvirate honest. But that’s it.
The difference between Klopp’s Liverpool and any
previous iteration is their ability to win games when
playing poorly. In the Champions League final, they
barely got out of second gear yet never once looked
like losing. The belief that Klopp has instilled in this
cavalcade of a team is a force of nature, seen most
notably in the thrilling Barcelona comeback but with
regularity, such as scoring twice in the last 10 minutes
to beat Southampton 3-1 during a high-stakes run-in.
If City eyes drift to a big-eared prize, they will find
that Liverpool are waiting, hungrier than ever.LAST SEASON
PREMIER LEAGUE 2nd
FA CUP Third Round
LEAGUE CUP Third Round
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Winners
TOP SCORER
Mohamed Salah (27)