Klopp confident history will not repeat itself for Liverpool this summer
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted the club will not be losing any key players in the summer.
The Reds were Premier League runners-up for 2018/19, finishing one point behind Manchester City with 97 points – the most of any other team not to win the title.
Will Liverpool lose key players this summer? Five key things to know…
- Liverpool finished as Premier League runners-up for the third time, ending the season one point behind Manchester City.
- The last time Liverpool finished second in 2013/14, Luis Suarez was sold to Barcelona that summer.
- And after a second-placed finish in 2008/09, Xavi Alonso was allowed to leave for Real Madrid.
- But Jurgen Klopp is insistent that won’t happen again this season, as the Reds look to build on their close title challenge.
- Liverpool could still end the season with a trophy as they face Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final.
It is the third time Liverpool have gone close to the Premier League title having finished two points behind Man City in 2013/14 and four behind Manchester United in 2008/09.
On both occasions, Liverpool were stripped of key players with Xabi Alonso leaving in 2009 and Luis Suarez in 2014 – both off the back of impressive seasons.
But, after Liverpool’s record-breaking campaign this time around, Klopp is confident the Reds can keep the likes of Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
“The season is a very long, hard one. You have to deal with setbacks,” he told reporters.
“We were always competitive. City got the points they have because we were there. They have 198 points in two years, that’s special. We made such big steps. It’s only the first step. Always after a good year we lost key players [in the past] but we won’t [this time] so we’ll be there again.
“The team made so many big steps in the last year. The boys were all there from last season apart from Alisson. He had a big impact but all the rest were here last season.
“It’s a very special season, a better season than I played with my team [Borussia Dortmund] when we were champions in Germany. But we cannot ignore one team were better.
“It’s clear we were lucky in moments, like City were. We were unlucky against City but scored in the last second against Everton and late on against Newcastle, they could have been draws as well.”
Despite the Premier League disappointment, Liverpool can still end the season on a high with a Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur at the start of June.
Salah: We gave everything
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the season not only ensured they pushed Man City all the way, but also meant they had dropped just 17 points all season.
Champions Man City were in fact the only team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League this season, with a victory at the Etihad Stadium at the start of 2019 proving vital.
And Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is ready to fight again for the title next year, telling Sky Sports: “We only lost one game all season. We gave everything. We got 97 points. We will fight next season for the title.”
Salah finished the Premier League season on 22 goals, tying with team-mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the Golden Boot – the second year in a row in which the Egyptian has come out on top.
