Jurgen Klopp has done it again. Liverpool has defied odds to emerge as a real title challenger
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to a complete collection of major trophies from 2019-22. So it should be no surprise to see him back in contention for the Premier League title this season.
Yet, even with his record, Liverpool's resurgence seems to have come from nowhere.
“It’s like nobody expected us there. I didn’t think about it. I thought it was possible, but didn’t really think about it,” Klopp said after his team's 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
It is a measure of Liverpool's form that a point against its fiercest rival was greeted with disappointment. The draw ended the Merseyside club's 100% 11-game winning run at Anfield this season and saw it drop to second in the table as Arsenal moved a point clear at the top.
But a title challenge never looked likely for a team that was in disarray last season and was expected to go through a period of transition.
Having been in contention for a clean sweep of trophies up until the final two games of the season in 2022, Liverpool ended up empty-handed a year later and failed to even qualify for the Champions League.
With star players like Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino having departed, Klopp has had to embark on a hasty rebuild, with doubts about his ability recruit players of the quality of many who left.
It remains to be seen if his current squad can come close to emulating the success of his previous team, but just one defeat in the league, while Liverpool is also still in contention in all its other cup competitions, is cause for optimism.
And in a season when Manchester City's title defense is faltering after a run of one win in six in the league, Klopp is the only challenger to have experience of overcoming Pep Guardiola.
Not that the German is thinking about the title race yet.
“I couldn’t really be interested, to be honest,” he said. "I am happy we are in the area where we are and I don’t know why we open that discussion, this bottle, this early. It’s December, it’s the toughest period of the year. Everybody has to get through it somehow, everybody has to dig really deep to get through it. When you are in the cup competitions still then that makes life not easier.
“So, get through this and open your eyes again in April and have a look where you are and then I am more than happy to discuss that, absolutely.”
Klopp won the German league in 2011 and 2012 with Borussia Dortmund and the Premier League in 2020.
He has been involved in enough title challenges to know how to manage the pressure of being in the thick of the battle. That might give him the edge over league leader Arsenal and third-placed Aston Villa, which is emerging as a surprise challenger.
His comments after the United game felt like an attempt to control expectations in a manner that, perhaps, Mikel Arteta did not when Arsenal suffered a late season collapse last term after leading the table for 248 days.
Liverpool's home game against Arsenal on Saturday will be a latest test of both teams' title credentials.
CITY SLUMP
City has hit a mid-season slump that has seen it drop to fourth after four draws and a loss in its last six games in the league. A 2-1 win at relegation-fighting Luton was its only victory during a damaging run.
Last season's treble winner is taking a break from domestic action as it competes in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
By the time City next plays in the league at in-form Everton on Dec. 27, it could be eight points behind Arsenal.
City plays Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Tuesday.
VILLA CHALLENGE
A 2-1 win against Brentford on Sunday moved Aston Villa to within a point of the top of the table and level with second-placed Liverpool. It also saw manager Unai Emery set a record for the Midlands club.
Villa has won 25 Premier League games in the calendar year, which is the most it has ever managed in English soccer's top division.
Having taken over a team that was under threat of relegation last season, Emery could lead Villa to first place on Friday when it plays Sheffield United. A draw in the game between Liverpool and Arsenal on Saturday would see Villa stay top on Christmas Day.
UNITED FIGHTS
With three words, Erik ten Hag sought to quash talk of player unrest at Manchester United.
A battling 0-0 at Liverpool was the perfect way to respond to ongoing questions about locker room unity as United's troubled season has endured numerous setbacks.
“I told you,” said a satisfied Ten Hag after his team's performance at Anfield.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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