Jurgen Klopp has achieved spectacular things with Liverpool, delivering the Reds' very first Premier League title and restoring the club's European glory.
Sunday's seemingly impossible victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final could be the first of four trophies in the 2023/2024 season, but it may be somewhat more poetic given the way in which Liverpool won the first major trophy of the season if it were to be their last under their legendary German manager.
The Carabao Cup doesn't necessarily lead to anything too huge; the winner is guaranteed a spot in the Conference League play-off round, but Liverpool are virtually assured of a Champions League group stage spot already. The significance lies far more in the way Liverpool snatched their last-gasp extra-time victory over Chelsea.
It's fair to say that Liverpool only had two of their regular starting eleven on the pitch at the end of the final. Jurgen Klopp quite literally had no choice but to put inexperienced academy players out on the pitch against Chelsea's regular starters.
By the end of the game, Liverpool had four academy players on the pitch, not including two or three graduates who are now regular starters.
Ultimately it was the experienced Virgil van Dijk who got the winning goal, celebrating his header by lifting the trophy a few minutes later, and this reflects what makes Liverpool so special.
For this season at least, Klopp has bright, young talents alongside players with a wealth of experience. Van Dijk for example has won seven major trophies with Liverpool alone, whilst Connor Bradley, despite being just 20-years-old, looks as though he has ten years' experience.
So what about the other three trophies available to Liverpool?
They can't win the quadruple given that they're in the Europa League rather than the Champions League, but could the Reds really win four major trophies in Klopp's final season?
Premier League
As it is for any English club, the Premier League is the bread and butter for Liverpool. It's still somewhat remarkable that in the 32-year Premier League era, the Reds have only won the title once.
Anfield didn't get to celebrate that title, given that the 5 - 3 win over Chelsea (ironically) which sealed the title was during the Covid restricted era; Klopp would love nothing more than to celebrate a Premier League title with the Liverpool fans he adores before his departure.
The Manchester City/Liverpool era is something of a myth given that Liverpool have actually only finished runners-up to City in two of their five title winning seasons in the last six years. That's not to say they haven't been a force to be reckoned with, but in terms of the Premier League, Liverpool fans have an itch that's yet to be scratched in terms of going toe-to-toe with Manchester City and properly beating them.
Not to take away from Liverpool's 2020 title, but Manchester City were way off that season. Liverpool had the title wrapped up as early as they ever had in a 20-club season and won the league by 18 points.
On both occasions where the two sides have gone down to the wire for the title, City have won it.
On top of the usual title challenge from Pep Guardiola's side, his most prominent student Mikel Arteta is leading a Premier League title charge of his own at Arsenal.
The Gunners have won their first six league games in 2024, scoring 25 goals in the process, a run which includes a 3 - 1 victory over Liverpool.
Arsenal fell just short of Manchester City last season, but in tough moments this time around Arsenal have come up with big goals. Late wins over Luton Town, Manchester City and Manchester United have shown a resolve and determination to the Gunners that was missing last season.
Liverpool are top of the tree, but one tiny slip up would allow one or both of their rivals to capitalise. With Manchester City coming to Anfield in just two weeks, a win for the champions would take them top, whilst even a draw could allow Arsenal to leapfrog both sides.
Jurgen Klopp will be more than aware that his Liverpool side may well need to win all 12 of their remaining league matches if they are to secure their second Premier League title. It's not an impossible task for a side with such an impressive mentality, but remains a tall order for anyone.
FA Cup
The FA Cup is special. Like the Carabao Cup, it doesn't offer a huge financial incentive and most of the sides that win the competition are already safely qualified for Europe. Yet most of the great Premier League managers will be quick to say that the FA Cup matters.
Liverpool are, as usual, one of the favourites to win the FA Cup. A home tie in the Fifth Round against out-of-form Southampton shouldn't make it too difficult for the Reds to progress to the last eight for just the second time in nine years.
Should Liverpool get past Southampton on Wednesday night, they're likely to face Premier League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since the 3rd Round win over Arsenal.
Coventry City knocked out sixth-tier Maidstone on Monday night, but every other tie in this round features at least one Premier League club. The standard of the clubs in the quarter-finals will be at the highest point for many seasons if the favourites progress, with Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Manchester United, Bournemouth and Brighton all potentially going through.
The trouble for Liverpool lies in balancing the FA Cup with their other competitions. Their participation in the Europa League as well as a ludicrous injury list will stretch their squad to its thinnest, potentially handing a quality rival such as Manchester United or Newcastle the advantage in an FA Cup tie.
Europa League
At the start of the 2023/2024 season, few people doubted Liverpool's status as absolute favourites to win the Europa League as long as there wasn't a surprise dropout from the Champions League.
Former European champions AC Milan and Benfica both dropped down from the Champions League, but by far the biggest threat to Liverpool's Europa League title hopes comes from a side managed by a former Reds midfielder.
If you asked an artistic football fan to paint a picture of a man who was unbeaten in all competitions and on the verge of ending a rival's 10-year dominance of a league, they'd probably paint something like this picture of Xabi Alonso.
Say it quietly, but Bayer Leverkusen have played the best football in Europe this season. No manager would want to come up against them, with Die Werkself still unbeaten in all competitions at the end of February.
For Liverpool (or anyone else for that matter) to eliminate the Bundesliga leaders would be an incredibly tough task, especially over two legs where one of them is at the BayArena.
Klopp has shown a serious interest in the Europa League this season, with Mo Sahal, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz making 15 appearances between them in the six group matches.
But, so long as both Klopp and Alonso continue to play strong teams in the competition, it's hard to see a situation where the two league leaders avoid each other. Whether it be in the final or over two legs in a knockout tie, there will more than likely be a meeting between these sides and it will most likely decide who wins Europe's second tier competition.
However many trophies Liverpool win this season, they will reportedly have a parade to honour Klopp at the end of the 2023/2024 season. A quadruple, whilst putting an incredible strain on the squad and its manager, remains a possibility for this Liverpool side, albeit a small one.
Comments