Why has Liverpool’s promising season become poor?

Liverpool were in the running to win four trophies before their FA Cup game against Manchester United, and the team was confident that they could win at Old Trafford.

It was a fixture at the home of their fierce rivals, but Liverpool has dominated games against United for some time.

The Reds also had Mohamed Salah on their team, a player who scored the most goals in matches between both clubs.

Their supporters and neutrals expected Jurgen Klopp’s men to win easily at Old Trafford and progress to the next stage of the competition.

However, Liverpool met a United team that was not prepared to be disgraced at home, so the Red Devils matched Klopp’s men fire for fire.

United was prepared to reach the next round and eventually won the game in extra time, but in truth, Liverpool have themselves to blame.

The Reds carved United open on several occasions and casually missed their goalscoring chances.

For fans who thought their poor form in front of goal was just for that game, Liverpool proved them wrong as the Reds have struggled to score goals since then.

Their elimination from the FA Cup affected the players, who now had two more trophies to win, having already clinched the Carabao Cup.

They won their next two games against Brighton and Sheffield United, but when they met United again in the league, Liverpool were out of sorts.

The fixture ended 2-2 and the Reds would go on to lose 3-0 at home to Atalanta in the Europa League before being beaten at home by Crystal Palace.

Atalanta eliminated them in the Europa League after they could only win the return leg 1-0 in Italy. Why has Liverpool's season descended into chaos?

Overconfidence

Liverpool had begun the season with a huge rebuilding job following their dismal campaign last term.

The Reds completely reconstructed their midfield after signing Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool finished outside the top four last season, with Newcastle United finishing above them in the standings.

Their fans purchased Liverpool tickets out of loyalty to their team, and most of them, along with neutrals, did not expect much from the team this year.

However, when the second half of the season began and Liverpool remained in the running to win four trophies, it began to look like the Reds could actually win a quadruple this term.

The media and their fans began to tip them to end this season in fine fashion by finally winning four trophies, which they failed to do in 2022.

Liverpool got too confident in themselves and their matches against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and Atalanta at Anfield were the clearest indication of this.

They had more than enough chance to defeat United, but they casually missed them, which came back to haunt them in both games.

Against Atalanta at Anfield, the Reds began the game as if it was a fixture they could stroll to a win and were all over the place.

We know how hard it can be for away teams at Anfield on European nights, and Liverpool believed they would find a way back into the game as they always do.

This overconfidence eventually cost them the tie in the first leg after La Dea raced to a 3-0 win. They could only win 1-0 in Bergamo and paid the price for not humbling themselves and working hard to win at home.

Jurgen Klopp’s ill-time announcement

Jurgen Klopp announced earlier in the season that he would be leaving Liverpool in the summer, nine years after he moved to the Premier League club.

The German will leave the team as a heroic figure and an unforgettable manager among a generation of fans.

Liverpool was swimming in mediocrity when he accepted the role of replacing Brendan Rodgers at the Anfield dugout.

He helped the Reds end their three-decade wait to be champions of England and won another Champions League for them, while reaching the final of the competition two other times.

It is a big deal that Klopp is leaving the club, and the players’ first reaction is to try to win every trophy offered to them.

However, as their season unravels in the last few weeks, we cannot separate their shocking collapse from Klopp’s announcement that he is leaving.

The German’s departure is beginning to tell on the players who are inevitably thinking about their future.

The new signings who only joined in the summer hoped to work with Klopp for a long time, but they now worry if they will be in the plans of the next manager.

Several key players whom Klopp has been loyal to for years now wonder if they will be a part of the next Liverpool side.

The players may be doing their best in training and games in their red shirts, but they also follow the news and are keen to know who the next Liverpool boss will be.

They cannot influence that decision, but it has become an unwelcome distraction that is clearly affecting their season.

If Klopp had made that announcement at the end of the season, it could have been a smarter idea, as the team would have ended this term already.

Poor form from their attack

Another reason Liverpool has become poor and is struggling to get results is that their attack has suddenly become blunt.

The Reds have world-class forwards like Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez, among others.

With this line up of attackers, they should not struggle to win games or score goals, but Liverpool could not score in consecutive games against Atalanta and Crystal Palace, losing both.

The Reds have chosen the wrong time to struggle in attack, with Manchester City and Arsenal scoring, it is difficult to see Liverpool win the league if things don’t change.

Mohamed Salah has been their leading scorer this season, but even the Egyptian King is struggling since he returned from the injury he sustained at the AFCON.

If Liverpool’s attackers cannot fix their problems and stop missing goals, their title challenge will be over in the next few matches and certainly before the final game of the season.

Conclusion

There are just a few games before this season ends, and Liverpool might finish a promising campaign with just the Carabao Cup in the bag.

Klopp’s farewell season could have been better, but the German has contributed to their struggles with the announcement of his departure which should have been done at the end of the season.