Liverpool FC: On the 'Virg' of another dry spell

Liverpool currently sit 23 points behind league leaders Manchester City, in 6th place, with four games to go. Out of the 34 games played so far, they have lost 9, won just 16, and shared the points in the remaining 9.

Let's rewind the clock just ten months back. At this stage last season Liverpool were sitting comfortably at the top of the table with a 23-point cushion over second-placed Manchester City, cruising towards ending the 30-year wait of clinching their 19th domestic league title.

They had won 87.9% of the 33 games they played, having lost just 2 while also stringing together a 17-game winning streak. The number 4 on Liverpool's team sheet struck fear amongst any opposition team, with the front three as lethal as ever and the midfield steamrolled through the center.

How have Liverpool managed to get themselves into such a tight spot where even a top-four finish now looks questionable?

What's gone wrong for Liverpool FC in just a year?

Jurgen Klopp took charge of Liverpool Football Club mid-way through the 2015 season and managed to finish 8th in the league. In each of the seasons since then, Liverpool have bettered their final league position (barring 17-18 where they also finished 4th).

But more importantly, they have consistently improved on their brand of football. Blistering counter-attacks, out-running teams, and at the same time out-scoring them. Since the 2015-16 season Liverpool had not bagged any silverware under Klopp's management, but there certainly was a different atmosphere and a sense of belief that trophies were not too far away.

The deadlock was finally broken by way of, first, winning the 2018-19 Champions League and following that up with the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2019. Throughout this entire period there were huge sums of money spent which brought in the likes of Mane, Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Allison etc, the base over which the current squad rests. Among the group, the final 'key' players to join the club were Allison and Fabinho in the summer window ahead of the 2018-19 season.

This gave the core set of players time to play together and develop as a team. But at the same time, the rest of the teams in the league had also learned from their mistakes and figured out a way to combat this Liverpool dominance.

Since the 2018-19 season Liverpool have only managed to add the likes of Minamino, Adrian, Tsimikas, Jota and Thiago, with only the latter two really making it into the starting eleven on a regular basis. Arguably, this may not have been the case had Henderson been fit and the front three performing at their usual level.

Then came the influx of injuries. Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson have all been unavailable for the majority of the season. There are other injuries as well, with Tsimikas, Jota and Naby Keita to name a few who also were injured in parts of the season.

The crucial set-back in the center back position prompted Klopp to plug the gap, with Fabinho partnered with Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams and even Henderson for a few games. The arrival of Ozan Kabak provided yet another option in the quest to resolve the center back conundrum.

Funnily enough, it's the front end of the pitch which, without much rotation or injuries, has underperformed. There has been a consistent decline in the number of goals scored by Mane, Salah and Firmino over the past three seasons. From 57 collective premier league goals in 2017-18 to 56 in 2018-19 to 46 in 2019-20 and currently stands at 43 goals (including 8 scored by Jota) in the 2020-21 season. Goal contributions from midfield have also dried up this season.

The cumulative impact of a lack of top quality recruits in the last few transfer windows, rotten luck with a string of crucial long-term injuries (which could take more time to integrate with the first team) and an underperforming attack, could well set Liverpool Football Club a few years behind before they get back on top of the perch and dominate English Football again.