Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side are utterly wondrous, worthy of the highest of praise. Or are they? 21 years since they won a famous cup treble, by beating Alaves 5-4 to secure a UEFA Cup win, the Reds are in contention to go one better this term, should they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
They’ve now won the domestic cup double after adding the FA Cup to their League Cup, with both successes coming on penalties against Chelsea. That on the face of it may seem fortunate, but it doesn’t take away from their achievement of winning those competitions in the same season, something that Manchester City achieved back in 2019.
A recent Jason Burt piece from the Telegraph claimed that Jurgen Klopp was second only to Sir Alex Ferguson in English football, a claim that infuriated those on social media that are not fans of the Merseysiders. The main sticking point came not in Europe, where Klopp has reached three finals and could match Fergie for titles if he beats Real Madrid, but instead on a domestic front.
Despite Liverpool’s quality, they still have only one league title to their name under their German boss. One. And that looks unlikely to change this weekend as Manchester City host Aston Villa, needing a win to guarantee a fourth Premier League title in five years. That is the defining difference between Pep Guardiola and Klopp in the Premier League, the Spaniard has utterly dominated domestically.
So to put Klopp above everybody else except Sir Alex Ferguson (13 Premier League titles), is elevating the quality of his achievements somewhat. Having said that, he has also come up against the highest quality opponent in a title race. Should Liverpool win their final two games, they will have posted 90+ points in the three of the past four seasons.
Manchester United have only broken the 90 point barrier on three occasions in the Premier League and each time have ended the season as champions, while they have also won the league with as little as 75 points. So are Liverpool simply more unfortunate than Manchester United teams of the past rather than worse? It’s a question that unfortunately doesn’t boast an answer but given how much football has progressed, and the fact that we can see the points totals posted - it seems as if this Liverpool side seriously challenged United in the 1990s.
Having given the Reds a huge amount of credit there, it must also be said that putting Klopp second in English football history is outlandish. Sir Matt Busby, Herbert Chapman, Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly still outrank him, while in the Premier League era, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger have serious cases for their place at the top table with the greats of the past.
Following the FA Cup triumph, Klopp has now won every trophy available to him in English football in just seven years, but importantly they are singular achievements. One Premier League. One FA Cup. One League Cup. One Club World Cup. One Champions League (for now). His transformation of Liverpool has been exceptional, but if he wants to join the greats of the past he needs to dominate these competitions, as Manchester City have done.
Liverpool fans will argue that City’s lack of European glory somewhat sours their domestic dominance, but the Premier League is the bread and butter of English football, and the Citizens have utterly dominated in recent years.
When it comes to European glory, the Reds cannot be matched across British football, but they haven’t won as much as they should have and that is solely down to Manchester City and Guardiola’s brilliance.
Much like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at their peaks, perhaps Liverpool and City need each other to push each other to their absolute best. Sure, it's easy to say that Liverpool would have dominated in any other era and they have underachieved given their star quality, but they are up against the toughest opposition anybody has had to face in Premier League history.
If you judge a side on Premier League trophies then Liverpool have only won as many as Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City. If you judge them on European trophies then nobody else in England comes close. But if you simply judge them with your own eyes, then you are in for a treat.
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