Liverpool can boast of having a new claim on Manchester United as the Reds show Premier League rivals Chelsea how their squad is put together.
It is now 10 years since Liverpool’s arch-rivals Manchester United won the Premier League, a milestone in itself.
Reds fans will savor every moment of United’s losing streak after United were ruthlessly mocked for not bringing their side until 2020 to lift the trophy.
They know better than anyone how snowballing a long wait can be, especially against arguably England’s greatest team of all time, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
As if to underline the Red Devils’ long drought, all members of their last reigning squad have now left the club. David de Gea was the last remaining member of the 2012/13 squad, but it was confirmed at the weekend that he would be leaving the club as a free agent.
It is worth noting that United still have seasoned winners in their squad in the form of Casemiro and Raphael Varane, who together collected six league and nine Champions League medals during their time at Real Madrid. France centre-back Varane can of course also call himself a world champion.
Also, there are several players who have already won national championship trophies. Victor Lindelöf (three times), Alex Telles (twice) and Diogo Dalot (once) have all tasted Primeira Liga glory, while Telles has also won the Turkish Süper Lig.
United’s contingent of former Ajax players — Christian Eriksen (three times), Donny van de Beek, Lisandro Martínez and Antony (all twice) — enjoyed success in the Eredivisie, with the former also becoming Serie A champions with Inter.
Finally there is Fred, three times winner of the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar Donetsk.
However, none of these players know what it takes to win the Premier League, the toughest competition in the world.
During Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure, when United have topped the table 13 times in 20 years and never gone more than three seasons without the honour, this would have been unthinkable.
But now Liverpool, who still boast 11 members of their 2019-20 title-winning squad, have turned the tables on their nemesis. Moreover, Jurgen Klopp still has 10 players available who were in the 2019 squad for the 2019 Champions League final win over Tottenham.
As Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley pointed out last week, Chelsea could start the new season with just four players from the side that won the competition two years after Liverpoo.
Some might try to call this reckless, but in reality, it’s wrong and adds to the feeling of chaos that has characterized the club’s horrendous 2022/23 season.
On the other hand, the turnover of the Liverpool team seems significantly better.
So far, 13 players have been released from Madrid’s 23-man squad and it’s conceivable that only four players from the starting XI – Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah – will retain their places in the squad. the next training. season.
Roberto Firmino, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane are gone, and Andy Robertson, Joël Matip, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson could all end up on the bench this year, either because they gave their all or, in Robertson’s case, they aren’t. fit especially well with the team’s new system.
The key point, however, is this: after a decisive start to the summer transfer window, Liverpool have managed to evolve while retaining the winning side, and that finer moments experience will prove to be a major asset next season and beyond.
