Brendan Rodgers came within inches of a Premier League title and his German ancestor is shaping up for a similar tilt at the title.
Jamie Carragher says the current Liverpool side reminds him of Brendan Rodgers’ 2013/14 nearly men, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Jurgen Klopp’s ‘class of 2016’ currently has more points to their name after ten games than Rodgers’ unit managed three seasons ago, Saturday’s 4-2 win against Crystal Palace maintaining a goal-laden start to the campaign that has even the most pessimistic Liverpool fan dreaming of a first league title in 1990.
In stark contrast, however, Klopp’s side is characterised by team ethic and the value of the collective over the individual, while the thrilling, uber-attacking outfit that capitulated in such heart-breaking fashion at the final hurdle in 2014 remains reminiscent for the dazzling virtuoso performances of Luis Suarez (below), Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling.
However, former Liverpool defender Carragher, who also endured the disappointment of finishing runner-up behind Manchester United in 2009, believes there is definite similarities to be made between the approaches espoused by Klopp and his predecessor Rodgers.
“Against Crystal Palace, the defence was not great, but their intensity with the ball, and the way they closed people down….it’s reminiscent of a couple of years ago,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
“I go back to that season with Brendan Rodgers. Don’t forget that is what nearly took Liverpool to the title – that extra energy, intensity, closing people down, fast football.”
Klopp’s famed ‘gegenpressing’ and blurry interchanging may have taken Liverpool to another level since his arrival, but it must be remembered that Rodgers almost scribed his name alongside the likes of Bill Shankly and Kenny Dalglish in Anfield folklore by operating a similarly high-tempo blueprint.
However, while Liverpool’s ‘SAS’ double act of Suarez and Sturridge tore a trail of destruction through Premier League defences, netting 52 of their 101 goals, one of the most exciting attacking sides in memory was eventually undone by their much-publicised Achilles heel.
Conceding 50 times throughout the season, Liverpool posted the second worst defensive record in the top eight, with their Martin Skrtel-inspired horror show against Crystal Palace, where they threw away a 3-0 lead to draw at Selhurst Park, costing them a historic title triumph.
And, with their enduring vulnerability at set pieces and a tendency towards individual errors, Klopp has much work to do if he is to avoid a similar scenario this time around.
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