How Liverpool can win the quadruple in Jurgen Klopp's final season
- Liverpool eyeing multiple trophies in Jurgen Klopp's final season as manager
- Reds have already picked up the Carabao Cup
- Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup are still up for grabs
Liverpool began their farewell to departing manager Jurgen Klopp with a Wembley triumph over Chelsea, but there are more trophies to play for before the 2023/24 season comes to an emotional end.
The Reds secured Carabao Cup glory in February thanks to Virgil van Dijk's extra-time winner and are well placed in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup.
The Merseysiders were in the hunt for a quadruple in the final months of the 2021/22 season, winning both domestic cups in England but coming up short in the title race and in Europe, being beaten by Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Can they achieve the incredible feat this time around? Here's what Liverpool need to do in the final months of the 2023/24 campaign to send Klopp on his way with four trophies.
Premier League
An injury crisis at the start of 2024 threatened to undo a lot of good work Liverpool had put in during the first half of the season.
The Reds won five of their opening six games and were only beaten by Tottenham in late September in a controversial fixture filled with VAR mishaps. That defeat didn't deter Klopp's side, who then went unbeaten in England's top flight until February.
That run included a Merseyside derby victory over Everton, a late draw at Manchester City as well as Anfield ties with Manchester United and Arsenal.
Mohamed Salah departed for the Africa Cup of Nations after the New Year's Day success against Newcastle, but the Egyptian suffered an injury and would only make one appearance - scoring and assisting as a substitute at Brentford - before returning in the Europa League.
The Reds won eight of nine matches from Boxing Day - suffering defeat at Arsenal in early February - and remain well in the hunt for the title ahead of the run-in.
Klopp still has games against Man Utd, Tottenham and Aston Villa to oversee, as well as a Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. With Man City and Arsenal showing few signs of slowing in their pursuits of top spot, Liverpool can't afford to many slip-ups if they want to secure a second Premier League title and a 20th championship in total.
Pos | Team | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Arsenal | 28 | +46 | 64 |
2. | Liverpool | 27 | +39 | 63 |
3. | Man City | 27 | +35 | 62 |
4. | Aston Villa | 27 | +22 | 55 |
5. | Tottenham | 26 | +16 | 50 |
FA Cup
Liverpool were given one of the hardest tests possible when their name came out of the hat for the FA Cup third-round draw. The Reds were paired up with Premier League title rivals Arsenal, needing to win at the Emirates Stadium to advance.
The Gunners peppered Alisson's goal but missed quality chances, leaving the tie open to be claimed by the visitors late on. Jakub Kiwior's own goal put the Reds ahead in the 80th minute before Luis Diaz wrapped it up deep into stoppage time with a breakaway second.
The first game following Klopp's shock announcement was the fourth-round drubbing of Norwich City. Curtis Jones' opener was quickly cancelled out by Ben Gibson against the run of play, but strikes from Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch helped Liverpool to a straightforward victory, even with Borja Sainz reducing the deficit in the second half.
A group of local Scouse youngsters had endeared themselves to supporters with their efforts in the Carabao Cup final days before the fifth-round tie against Southampton. The likes of Conor Bradley, James McConnell and Bobby Clark all started against the Saints, but it was 18-year-old Lewis Koumas who opened the scoring with a deflected effort.
Jayden Danns then popped up off the bench to score twice during his half-hour cameo, setting up a visit to Man Utd in the quarter-finals.
Klopp has only ever won the FA Cup once since arriving on Merseyside in 2015 and will hope fitness issues in his squad don't compromise another run to Wembley.
Date | Fixture/Result | Round |
|---|---|---|
07/01/24 | Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool | Third round |
28/01/24 | Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City | Fourth round |
28/02/24 | Liverpool 3-0 Southampton | Fifth round |
17/03/24 | Man Utd vs Liverpool | Quarter-finals |
Europa League
Liverpool's underwhelming 2022/23 season meant they qualified for the Europa League rather than the prestigious Champions League.
They made a storming start to Group E, securing comfortable successes over LASK, Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse. They were on the end of a few dodgy decisions in a 3-2 defeat at Toulouse in November, but a 4-0 thrashing of LASK on matchday five ensured the Reds finished top of the group, making their loss to Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium academic.
Group E table
Pos | Team | Played | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Liverpool | 6 | +10 | 12 |
2. | Toulouse | 6 | -1 | 11 |
3. | Union Saint-Gilloise | 6 | -3 | 8 |
4. | LASK | 6 | -6 | 3 |
Group E results
Date | Result |
|---|---|
21/09/23 | LASK 1-3 Liverpool |
05/10/23 | Liverpool 2-0 Union Saint-Gilloise |
26/10/23 | Liverpool 5-1 Toulouse |
09/11/23 | Toulouse 3-2 Liverpool |
30/11/23 | Liverpool 4-0 LASK |
14/12/23 | Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 Liverpool |
Knockout stage fixtures
By coming top of their group, Liverpool avoided the knockout round play-offs and went straight into the hat for the last 16.
There they were paired with Sparta Prague and the Reds delivered a dominant performance in the first leg to put one foot into the quarter-finals, winning 5-1 in Czechia. That result should make the return leg more of a formality before they discover their opponents in the last eight.
Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen - led by Liverpool target Xabi Alonso - should go through after a draw in their first leg at Qarabag, while Roma, Marseille and AC Milan all recorded victories. While Klopp might have wanted a last crack at the Champions League, there's unfinished business for the German in the secondary club competition having lost in the 2016 final to serial winners Sevilla.
Date | Fixture/Result | Round |
|---|---|---|
07/03/24 | Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool | Last 16 first leg |
14/03/24 | Liverpool vs Sparta Prague | Last 16 second leg |
Carabao Cup
Liverpool have already secured one trophy in Klopp's final season, besting Chelsea in extra time at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup thanks to Van Dijk's header.
The Reds had seen off Leicester and Bournemouth in the early rounds before sending West Ham packing from Anfield with a 5-1 drubbing.
The two-legged semi-final with Fulham proved to be tighter than expected but Liverpool still ran out 3-2 aggregate winners to book their trip to Wembley.
Liverpool and Chelsea have played out some snooze-fest finals in recent years but this clash was more memorable despite its low-scoring nature, with both sides guilty of missing gilt-edged chances before Van Dijk's decisive contribution in extra time.
Date | Result | Round |
|---|---|---|
27/09/23 | Liverpool 3-1 Leicester | Third round |
01/11/23 | Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool | Last 16 |
20/12/23 | Liverpool 5-1 West Ham | Quarter-final |
10/01/24 | Liverpool 2-1 Fulham | Semi-final first leg |
24/01/24 | Fulham 1-1 Liverpool | Semi-final second leg |
25/02/24 | Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (AET) | Final |
Have Liverpool ever won a quadruple?
No team has ever won a quadruple in the modern Champions League era. In fact, a lot of teams around Europe can't achieve the feat as they don't have two domestic cup competitions like England does.
Liverpool did come close in 2021/22, but they ended up falling painfully short at the last hurdles. The Reds won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup but ultimately finished a point behind Man City in the Premier League title race and fell to defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League final, coming up against an inspired Thibaut Courtois in a 1-0 loss.
Back in 2000/01, a side led by Gerard Houlier managed a unique cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup - then called the Worthington Cup - while the legendary 1983/84 side was successful in the First Division, European Cup and League Cup.
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