KLOPP: THE LAST YEAR TOOK A TOLL

JURGEN KLOPP says the pursuit of history may have left Liverpool physically and mentally spent.

Though Liverpool’s manager is adamant his squad will come through a season of turbulence, he recognises they are nowhere near the levels that took them to within two games of completing a clean sweep of trophies last spring.

Liverpool became the first team to play every match in every competition in a campaign that culminated in a Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid, the last of 63 fixtures. It has since been evident that many players have struggled to reach their best form. When asked if their efforts over the last 12 months had taken a toll, Klopp replied: ‘It must have. We can say that now. There was no book written about it, there was no data about it. There was nothing about it because nobody played that many games ever before. ‘Outside the club they are speaking as if we are bottom of the table. There are times when you just have to get through it.’