I fear the worst is yet to come for the Reds. Liverpool have been dumped out of the FA Cup by Brighton 2-1 in what can only be described as a bland, uninspired performance that has been indicative of their season.
Has there been a grand doppelganger conspiracy with this Liverpool team over the summer?
It’s honestly insane how polar opposite this Liverpool team has been since the Champions League Final against Real Madrid in early June to today against Brighton in the FA Cup. From a near-Champions League winning squad to a team that is now getting dumped out of the FA Cup before the Round of 16 by Brighton, Liverpool has completely collapsed.
I just don’t understand how this regression has happened so fast.
There wasn’t a point in the game against Brighton where Liverpool looked like they were going to win. They were outclassed, outchanced, and outfought in practically every area of the game, which is why Brighton had 56% of the ball, 13 shots vs. 8, 6 shots on target vs. 2, 538 passes vs. 436, and 3 corners to Liverpool’s 2.
Obviously, this Liverpool squad was destined to regress at some point as the Jurgen Klopp pressing system naturally wears down the players in it through the astronomical miles run/game average, but this decline is a little much. Like I said, this roster literally was a Champions League Finalist, came second in one of the most tightly contested Premier League races ever, won the EFL Cup, and won the FA Cup six months ago.
These are not bad or outdated players…but they are definitely demotivated ones.
Whether it’s as simple as the fatigue of last season’s heroics taking its toll (like what happened after Liverpool won the Premier League in 2020), Jurgen Klopp’s message growing stale and repetitive, or, more concerningly, these players have lost the will to win at all costs after coming up short again last season, these players look dejected when they take the field.
Losing another Champions League Final to Real Madrid and another Premier League to Manchester City has to hurt and severely damage Liverpool’s mentality towards these opponents. Sure, they have won a Champions League and a Premier League in the past (which might also be playing into this dip of form), but constantly falling short of Man City in the league must make it seem as if they’ll never be able to beat them.
I know that might sound preposterous, but this has happened to teams in the past.
The great Liverpool teams of the 1980’s collapsed as they couldn’t beat Arsenal, Leeds, and the early Man United dynasty, the Newcastle teams of the 1990’s collapsed because they couldn’t beat Manchester United, and even Sir Alex Fergueson had to shake up a multi-title winning Man United team when Jose Mourinho and Chelea were unbeatable in the early 2000’s as they kept falling short.
Title winning teams have and will continue to crumble when a better, younger, and hungrier sides come along and dethrone them from their perch.
I’m sure Liverpool fans will be hoping that’s not the case for this Liverpool side…or else they’re in for a long, long season.
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