Posts Tagged ‘Euro 2016’
Premier League side Liverpool have crashed out of the FA Cup after losing at home in a surprising manner to Wolverhampton.
The loss adds to the problems at Anfield after they threw away a chance to continue the race against Chelsea, then losing to Southampton in the EFL Cup semi finals. There have been so many disappointments within one week as it seems the team might end up trophyless again this campaign. They ended up without any title win last year but at least they got to two finals. This year they seem so far away.
Wolves stunned the Reds when Richard Stearman scored in the first minute. He latched onto a Helder Costa free kick to calm the home fans. Wolves did not stop at that, they scored the second before the end of the first half. Same Costa set up Andreas Weimann who easily dribbled Loris Karius to get the goal.
A subdued Liverpool team could not get the goals in. However, Divock Origi got one in and tried forcing another game when he sought to equal the scoreline but it didn’t quite happen. The loss made the third defeat at home in a week – a record that had been long standing until Swansea wrecked them. Read More
Upon taking his chair in the Anfield office, Jurgen Klopp had found himself with a squad which did not have the standard of fitness he would have liked to see.
It took the German, by his own admission, about 15 weeks to first work on that and then, only from February onwards, he reckoned the players were sufficiently fit to operate in the style he wanted.
Because all that work had been done while the season was running, the inconsistency in the results was hardly a surprise. And, it’s that inconsistency initially in Klopp’s tenure which limited Liverpool to 60 points making them end 8th.
If the winning percentage of the Reds post February is put into comparison with their winning percentage in the period between October and February, a considerable rise would be found which means once the coach had the footballers with better fitness, he was productive.
That upsurge still could not materialize the continental qualification, but, it was a proof that Klopp, with a team fit enough to cope with his style, could pay dividends in England.
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Jurgen Klopp has called upon the supporters to give their best in the hope of helping Liverpool in the Europa League final in Basel.
He says that fans should be making the trip in support of the team. Liverpool are hoping to win their first major European honour since 2005. Since the Champions League title in 2005 regime of Rafa Benitez, the team has lifted only one major title – the League Cup. The team has been in steady decline over the years until recently being lifted by Klopp. The German may remain at Liverpool for only a few months, but he has already got them within a whisker of winning the Europa League.
The team will be facing Sevilla, who have multiple victories in this trophy over the last five years, in the final in Basel. Aside from adding a major trophy to the collection, Liverpool will also be able to reach the group stages of the Champions League directly with a win. This is a huge motivation especially given that next season will see the new television deal for the Champions League coming into force. This coupled with the TV money from the Premier League also set for a huge rise could see Liverpool’srevenues increase severalfold over the next couple of years. Read More
Liverpool may still have one eye on enjoying a strong finish to the 2015/2016 Premier League season and go all the way in the Europa League, but we would forgive the players for having one eye on the upcoming European Championship this summer.
Representing your country at a major international tournament is the pinnacle of any player’s career, and while Jurgen Klopp will expect his team to remain focused and continue the progress that has been made ever since he arrived at Anfield, they may begin to safeguard themselves from the potential risk of injury that might rule them out of Euro 2016. Read More