Liverpool one of the greats
Every week along the way of Liverpool’s formidable streak of winning matches in the Premier League you could hear Jurgen Klopp say it was of no consequence to him. He was adamant about his indifference and swatted away endless questions with casual disdain.
That is the modern psychology: focus only on the next match, never on a target in the distance, never on potential glory, and certainly never on a place in the history books. But Klopp was fooling nobody.
Every manager is aware of the numbers in football. Statistics are endlessly dissected and Klopp certainly knew the greatness of the Liverpool figures as each week passed.
It slipped out one day when somebody asked him about the long unbeaten run of league matches, which had then moved into the 40s and within sight of the English alltime record of 49 set by Arsenal.
He responded with a reference to the last time Liverpool had lost, a 2-1 defeat away at Manchester City in January 2019, saying: “We could say we were beaten because of 11millimetres [the distance that goal-line technology showed how close a shot by Sadio Mane was to crossing the line]. It was a really tight game, so imagine if we had drawn that day. I don’t know what the number would be of how many games we didn’t lose.”
Eleven millimetres is a tiny fraction of distance. Klopp knew its significance all right, and he wanted the world to know too. Without that 11mm Liverpool’s unbeaten run would have been 66 league games before it ended with a 3-0 defeat away to Watford.
In the event, the sequence was one defeat in 66 games: a feat that no club has ever achieved in a major European league.
“I have never heard of anything like it,” said Klopp, and he was correct. This figure should be an impossibility in a sport as demanding and competitive as elite football.
Let’s put this into context. Manchester City lost three matches in 38 to win the Premier League last season. Bayern Munich lost four in 34 to clinch the Bundesliga and Juventus lost four in 38 to capture Serie A. One defeat in 66 is unparalleled consistency. So is another Liverpool statistic: winning 26 of the opening 27 league matches this term, and drawing the other.
When the magic run ended on a bitterly cold night at Watford it was followed by another loss in the FA Cup as Klopp rested half of his regular side.
A reaction was bound to occur. But that does not diminish the achievement of the Liverpool team of 2018-20. Their greatness is unimpeachable.
Jan Molby, who played in the last Liverpool side to win the English top flight title, in 1990, is convinced of that, saying: “This team will go down in history, not just as a great Liverpool team but in the big scheme of things as one of the best football teams we have ever seen. I have no doubt about that.”
Klopp’s Liverpool may not be the most beautiful side, although they have their moments of coruscating style, but they are endlessly entertaining. They are spectacular, they are imposing, they are dynamic and they are intelligent.
There is authority through the spine of the team, from goalkeeper Alisson to defensive colossus Virgil Van Dijk and their noisy, robust captain Jordan Henderson.
There is creativity from Roberto Firmino and the artful pair of full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. There is panache from Mo Salah and Mane.
There is also another vital ingredient in the mix: the emotional bond between the team and their supporters which has been cleverly cultivated by Klopp.
You sense it most surely after matches, when the crowd does not leave Anfield at the final whistle. Instead, they stay in their places in every part of the stadium to savour the mood and magic of a unique period.
They know their football at Liverpool. They know they are witnessing a special moment in time.
One defeat in 66 games is a feat that no club has ever achieved in a major European league