It’s also why a different sense of resignation might be seeping in around the club. Because, as deflated as everyone at Liverpool felt in January when Klopp’s departure was announced, there may actually be a worse feeling. It is the idea that it might actually be time for such a great man to go.
Everyone can now see what he meant when he said he was “running out of energy”. This certainly wasn’t how it was supposed to end, regardless of when it was going to end. It was supposed to be the great emotional farewell, that showed everyone what they were going to miss – but with even more feeling. Even another glorious near miss might have been fitting, since it would have added to the sense of this entire era as a romantic moral victory. There was certainly supposed to be a send-off in Dublin for the Europa League, regardless of what happened in the Premier League.
Liverpool instead never got close. Really, they were eliminated four games from the final, as Klopp admitted that the damage was done in the first leg.
That was what was so galling. Even though Liverpool actually had multiple chances in the first half of the second leg, it wasn’t like there was any great sense of regret. It just faded out. The team were a shadow of themselves.
This was most personified by the sad sight of Mohammed Salah missing a chance he would usually finish without thinking, amid an otherwise ineffective display. Klopp attempted to play this down afterwards, insisting it wasn’t a concern and that the Egyptian had missed opportunities like this in the past. That may be true, but the vast majority of those were before he joined Liverpool. We simply haven’t seen this since he became one of the surest things in football. Salah instead dropped to the level of his fellow forwards here, and maybe below. If this was a player who for the first time looked like he might be past his best, his attacking partners were reminded they still have some way to go before they reach that level. All of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and even Diogo Jota here looked like what they are: promising players signed for their potential for growth, but not yet at the super-consistent standard required.
Liverpool were able to get around that when Salah was at his own usual level, lifting everyone. If he isn’t, Liverpool just look… well, like this. It was a team that had forgotten what they used to do so well. That showed they were mentally fatigued, as much as physically fatigued.
This is where it also gets a touch more concerning for Liverpool. It isn’t over yet.
There is still the very real chance of a Premier League title. They are only two points behind Manchester City, and actually play twice before the champions have another league game. That run of fixtures could reshape the psychology of this runin. If Liverpool or Arsenal are ahead, with City suddenly feeling deflation after their own European elimination, it could be game on.
That means Klopp’s side need to get back switched on but that is something we haven’t properly seen in over a month. It raises the question of whether such performances are now even possible, or whether this burgeoning team have given all they can this season. The I
