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The day is October 8th, 2015. The day where Liverpool FC announced Jürgen Klopp as their new manager. After only finishing in the top four once in the last six years, the board made the decision to sack then-manager Brendan Rogers. Klopp came into the team with a vision and it has been executed perfectly.

Nearly seven years later Liverpool are one of the top clubs in Europe. Klopp has just announced the extension of his contract through 2026, the Carabao Cup has already been won, the FA Cup final is next weekend and the team are gearing up to face Real Madrid once again in the Champions League final on May 28th. They are also fighting for the Premier League title, currently sitting three points behind reigning champions Manchester City with three games left to go. It’s been a magical year for all Liverpool fans, including myself. The squad has insane depth and Klopp has the boys clicking on all cylinders. The Reds have shown this year that no matter what they are up against, that they are ready for the challenge. Now it’s time to go over the true glory of this season so far.

Carabao Cup Success

In the six years that Jürgen Klopp has been Liverpool’s manager, he had never won a league cup. Many accused Klopp of not even caring about the cup fixtures as his focus always seemed to stray to the league and European competitions. This year’s Carabao Cup was little different. The Reds got started by hosting the Canaries of Norwich City at Anfield this past September. Takumi Minamino, one of Klopp’s signings from the previous year, starred during the match. Minamimo slotted in two goals while club legend Divock Origi scored himself in the 50th minute, pushing the Reds through to the next round with a 3-0 score. Remember these two names because they will be mentioned again in this tournament.

In the next round the Reds were forced to travel to Deepdale Stadium to take on Championship side Preston North End. Klopp once again started a very rotated side with names like Harvey Blair, Tyler Morton and Neco Williams. The youngsters prevailed once again, getting some help from a Takumi Minamino goal in the 62nd minute along with a Divock Origi wonder goal in the 84th minute to send Liverpool to a quarter-final matchup against the Foxes of Leicester City.

Fast forward to December 22nd at Anfield, as the Reds were getting ready to take on Leicester City and ex-Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers. The game did not get off to the start that Liverpool wanted as Jamie Vardy scored two goals in a four-minute span to give Leicester a 2-0 lead. Six minutes later however, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain slotted in a goal to bring the Reds back within one. Anfield was unfortunately reminded of the two goal deficit quickly after as English midfielder James Maddison would go on to give the Foxes a 3-1 lead in the 33rd minute. Coming out of the half, Klopp would go on to make three changes to the side. Ibrahima Konate came on for youngster Billy Koumetio, James Milner came on for Tyler Morton and Diogo Jota came on Conor Bradley. This was Klopp showing that he wanted more from this competition than just participating in it. Taking out three academy players for the first team lads was a move that re-ignited the team. Diogo Jota would score in the 66th minute to once again bring Klopp’s men within one. And then in the fifth minute of stoppage time James Milner would swing a ball in from the right side of the pitch right over the Leicester defenders to Takumi Minamino. The Japanese attacker would chest the ball down and smash a half volley past Kasper Schmeichel in front of the Kop end to send the game to a penalty shootout. James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita would score Liverpool’s first four penalties with ease. Caoimhin Kelleher saved a Luke Thomas penalty, giving Takumi Minamino a chance to send Liverpool the semi-finals. Despite scoring the equalizer, Minamino would unfortunately sky the ball over the crossbar giving Leicester City a chance to win. However, Kelleher would strike once again, saving a Ryan Bertrand penalty. Diogo Jota would go on to walk to the penalty spot, and in front of the Leicester City away fans, send the Reds to the semi-final with the winning spot-kick. This is not the first Anfield signature comeback and it was not the last penalty shootout of this competition for the Reds.

Liverpool would take on Arsenal in the semi-finals through two legs. The first leg would once again be at Anfield, but surprisingly the match ended in a draw. Granit Xhaka was sent off in the 24th minute for the Gunners, but Liverpool were unable to take advantage of the extra man on their side. In the second leg at the Emirates, Arsenal were once again down to 10 men as Thomas Partey, but this time it was in the 90th minute and the job was already done for the Reds. Diogo Jota once again scored for Liverpool in the 19th and 77th minute to send Liverpool to their first Carabao Cup final since 2016.

The final at Wembley was an incredible atmosphere to witness from the start to the finish. Both teams had several chances and each had goals taken away by VAR. Extra-time provided the same energy for both sides, but this time Liverpool had a new weapon by the name of Luis Diaz. Diaz was flying down the wing on every possession toying with the Chelsea defenders. His energy and flair is a big part of what kept Liverpool in the game. As extra-time was coming to a close, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel would make a change that would eventually have a massive impact on the fixture. Tuchel would bring on goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in for Edouard Mendy due to his penalty shootout expertise. As the full time whistle for extra-time blew, Wembley Stadium was on the edge of their seats awaiting the outcome. The penalties were taken on the Liverpool side of the ground, giving the Reds a little mental advantage. Both sides hit their first 10 penalties with Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho’s hits being the highlights of Liverpool’s part of the shootout. It was time for the goalkeepers to take their penalties as Caoimhin Kelleher would step up to the spot and send a rocket past Kepa into the back of the net. Kepa would then have to make his penalty to keep the shootout going for the Blues, but instead he sent his penalty into the dark London sky giving Liverpool their ninth league cup title. This victory would kickstart Liverpool’s chase for more silverware.

Back to the FA Cup Final

The first FA Cup Final in exactly 10 years. The Reds have finally made their way back to yet another cup final. The journey started at Anfield against third tier side Shrewsbury Town in the third round. The lads got off to a cracking start, walking away from the match with a 4-1 victory. Goals from Kaide Gordon (his first for the club), Fabinho (2x) and Roberto Firmino were enough to send the Reds through. The next round was more of the same as goals from Diogo Jota, Takumi Minamino and Harvey Elliot on his first game back from a horrific ankle injury, placed the squad in the fifth round against Norwich City.

Norwich City was a bit of a different game for Klopp’s men. Takumi Minamino once again bagged a brace in the first 40 minutes for a 2-0 lead but the Canaries came back with a Lukas Rupp goal in the 76th minute to make things interesting at Anfield. However, it was too little too late as the ticket to the quarterfinals was punched. Liverpool were drawn to face Championship side Nottingham Forest. Forest, a club with a decorated history in the top flight, are currently fourth in the second division. This was also a match not held at Anfield, as the Reds had to travel to City Ground.

The match was difficult to control from the start, as Forests’ fans were holding up an incredible atmosphere for their team. Despite controlling most of the possession throughout the game, Liverpool found it very hard to break through until an in-swinging ball from the “Greek Scouser” Kostas Tsmikas found Diogo Jota’s right boot as it was tapped in to the back of the net. Liverpool just managed to squeeze out a victory, as they found themselves heading to Wembley for a FA Cup Semifinal once again. This time they would have to play reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City.

Any Liverpool vs. Manchester City fixture is expected to deliver fireworks. And that is exactly what this semi-final tie did. After scoring at the midweek fixture against Benfica from a corner, Ibrahima Konate headed in an Andy Roberston cross to give Liverpool the lead in only the ninth minute. Eight minutes later, American goalkeeper Zack Steffen committed the mistake of the tournament as he let Sadio Mane tackle the ball into the net to extend Liverpool’s lead to 2-0. Mane would go on to score another goal in the 40th minute after an incredible team move finished with a Thiago Alcantara chip to assist the Senegalese forward’s volley finish. City were able to pull two goals back in the second half to intensify the match a little bit, but the Reds finished out on top with a 3-2 victory.

Liverpool will take on the Blues of Chelsea on Saturday, May 14th for their first FA Cup trophy since the 2006 final against West Ham. This team has the heart, the players and of course they have the manager. The Carabao Cup Final between these two was a stressful one, so I expect nothing different from this fixture. May Liverpool win.

The endless Premier League title race

Liverpool is a club with an incredible history all over Europe. However, since 1990, the Reds have only won two Premier League titles (1990, 2020). Over the past few years, Manchester City have seemingly dominated England’s top flight. The Citizens have won five of the last 10 championships and they are looking for their sixth title this year. As the table currently stands they are three points above Liverpool with only two games left to go. Let’s look at some of the significant matches over this Premier League campaign for Liverpool.

Salah masterclass at Old Trafford

This was a signature fixture this year for this Liverpool side. The day was October 24th, 2021, and Liverpool traveled to Manchester to take on the new-look Manchester United. Although they were a new-look team, they had a player who used to be a star for the Red Devils in the 2000’s. His name… Cristiano Ronaldo. The game got off to a crazy start as Bruno Fernandes had an opportunity in the third minute to give United the lead but skied the attempt over the bar. This would be a huge moment of the game considering the fact that only one minute later Roberto Firmino would catch Harry Maguire out of position and play Mo Salah through. Salah would then have a one-on-one with Luke Shaw, laying the ball off perfectly to Naby Keita who slotted the ball past David De Gea to give Liverpool the early lead. An onslaught would follow as Diogo Jota tapped in a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross and Naby Keita then paid Mo Salah back by giving him an assist. Salah would then go on to score two more goals within the first 50 minutes, making him the first ever player to record a hat-trick at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

A Merseyside Derby to remember

Liverpool vs. Everton is a fixture that never lacks excitement. It was match week 14 in the Premier League, only five match weeks after the thrashing at Old Trafford. The game was a unique one due to the fact that Everton’s gaffer at the time was former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. The first 20 minutes of the match showed the true beauty of a Merseyside Derby as both Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah grabbed goals to put Liverpool up 2-0. However, only 19 minutes later, Demarai Gray finished a chance after a Richarlison pass played him perfectly through on goal. The crowd lit up, expecting the Toffees to record and equalize. This is what shows what team Liverpool truly are. Games like this are what define a squad and this Liverpool team attacked Everton and took back all the momentum that they had after halftime. Salah intercepted Everton skipper Seamus Coleman and finished a one-on-one chance against Englands #1 in Jordan Pickford and then 15 minutes later Diogo Jota put the game to bed with an incredible touch in the box past Allan. The Reds escaped Goodison Park with a 4-1 victory and kept on pushing to recover in the title race.

The Etihad stalemate

Manchester City vs. Liverpool. The battle of two European giants at the top of their game. Two words to describe this tie. Constant chaos. On this April 10th fixture, Kevin De Bruyne proved just that by scoring within the first five minutes. City fans were in complete jubilation… for about eight minutes as Diogo Jota came to the rescue once again, finishing off of a Trent Alexander-Arnold assist. Brazilian no. 9 Gabriel Jesus would score in the 37th minute to give City the lead going into the half. However, Sadio Mane capitalized off a beautiful Mo Salah pass in the 46th minute to quickly take away the momentum from the home crowd once again. Raheem Sterling would go on to score in the 63rd minute, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check. The game would go on to finish at 2-2, the second 2-2 draw between the two sides in the league. The two sides faced off three times this year with Liverpool defeating them in the FA Cup semifinals 3-2, giving them the advantage on the head-to-head matchups this year. Thank God those oil merchants aren’t touching Champions League any time soon.

A job well done at Villa Park

It’s always tough playing against a club legend. It’s even tougher playing a club legend when you need nothing less than three points. With only three games left, this was arguably the hardest fixture remaining in the league. The Reds traveled to Villa Park looking to complete the league double over the Clarets. However, that is not how the game started for Klopp & Co. as Douglas Luiz scored after only two minutes had gone by. With the home crowd riled up and the team on their heels the Reds had to once again dig in to that formula of not cracking under pressure. Only three minutes later, Joel Matip would tap in a Virgil van Dijk shot to equalize. The rest of the first half would be back and forth but the game finally took a breather after Sadio Mane headed in a Luis Diaz cross in the 65th minute. Three points needed, three points taken for the boys.

The title race is not over just yet, but it will be difficult to win it over Manchester City once again. City play Wolves later today and then they face both West Ham and Aston Villa. In order for Liverpool to win the title they would need to win the rest of their matches and they would need City to drop points twice out of their remaining three games. Liverpool will travel to St. Mary’s to take on Southampton and then will end their campaign at home against Wolves. Word to Kevin Garnett, anything is possible.

We’re going to Paris

18 points through the Group of Death. How ’bout them apples? After being drawn against AC Milan, Atlético Madrid and Porto you might’ve thought that this group would have a hard time getting out of the group stage. Liverpool breezed through the competition, winning all six of their group stage games. After finishing first in the group, reigning Italian champions Inter Milan were awaiting the boys in the Round of 16.

An intense Round of 16 tie

The Reds traveled to the San Siro for the first leg and the game was a tough one to work out for the lads. Both teams had their fair share of chances, but only one side would eventually take one. In the 75th minute, Andy Robertson would swing in a pass from the right side that would eventually find a Roberto Firmino dome piece. Firmino flicked the ball swiftly into the opposite left corner, giving Liverpool a long-awaited one goal lead. Seven minutes later King Mo would find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Giving Liverpool a 2-0 victory on the night.

The second leg was a weird one. Lautaro Martinez scored an absolute screamer, silencing the Anfield crowd, but it was proven not enough as Liverpool walked away from the tie with a 2-1 win on aggregate. It is still the only loss Liverpool has taken at home in the year 2022.

Portuguese Chaos

When Liverpool were drawn with Benfica, many fans had already written off the tie. Despite the first game ending in a 3-1 victory for Liverpool, the score did not tell the whole story. Ibrahima Konate opened the scoring with a booming header in the 17th minute, followed by a Sadio Mane goal after a beautiful ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold found Luis Diaz who just headed it down to an open Mane. Benfica’s star Darwin Núñez would capitalize off of a Konate mistake in the 49th minute, making the game a lot more intense then fans would want it. Despite their continuous fight, an old foe in Luis Diaz (formerly of FC Porto) would dribble the ball past Benfica’s keeper and drive one in with his left foot.

Back home at Anfield, the chaos began. Liverpool started the match with flying colors, with Konate scoring the opener in the 21st minute off of another header. However, Gonçalo Ramos took advantage of a James Milner deflection in the 32nd minute to make things uncomfortable for the home side once again. The uneasy feeling around Anfield lasted until about the 55th minute, where Roberto Firmino was left alone to tap in a Kostas Tsimikas cross to make the aggregate 5-2. Firmino would finish yet another Tsimikas assist only 10 minutes later as the Reds seemed to already have one foot in the semi-final. However, Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Núñez scored in nine minutes to bring it to 6-4. Anfield was still believing in victory but were weary of what had just conspired on the pitch. The lads managed to hold out for the win, punching their ticket to yet another Champions League semi-final.

Facing the underdogs

The first game was a typical Liverpool match at Anfield. A Pervis Estupiñán own goal off a Jordan Henderson cross in the 53rd minute would set the tone for the rest of the match, as Sadio Mane would score only two minutes later to see the Reds through to the next leg with a 2-0 victory. It was a good win, but fans knew no matter what a two goal victory was not going to be enough to seal it. Just look back at the Benfica tie.

Villareal, Spain is a city in Spain with just over 50,000 people. To put that into perspective Olathe, Kansas has just over 142,000 people. When Liverpool traveled to the Estadio de la Cerámica to face off against Unai Emery and his squad, it felt like all 50,000 people were there. Boulaye Dia, a fellow Senegalese international like Sadio Mane, would knock in an Etienne Capoue pass in only the 2nd minute to send the crowd into a frenzy. And Capoue would feature again just 38 minutes later, as Francis Coquelin would head in a Capoue cross to completely stun Liverpool. The halftime whistle was Liverpool’s savior, as the Reds were absolutely shambolic in the first half. Once again, this was a moment in their season where they needed to find that second gear and somehow comeback when all the odds were against them. 17 minutes in to the second half Fabinho was able to squeeze a shot in between Villareal’s keepers legs to make the aggregate 3-2, giving the away support something to cheer about. From then on, they never looked back. Luis Diaz would head the ball in off another beautiful Trent Alexander-Arnold pass and then seven minutes later Sadio Mane would round the keeper and beat Juan Foyth to give Liverpool a 5-2 aggregate lead. They fought back and silenced the entire stadium.

We have a score to settle

Ladies and gentlemen, here we are. A match made in football heaven. Real Madrid vs. Liverpool. Somehow and someway Carlo Ancelotti’s side have made their way into this game. Through multiple comebacks they have truly captured the hearts of the footballing world. However, this match will have a little bit of a different meaning for both sides. Just four years ago, Liverpool lost 3-1 in the Champions League final against the Spanish giants. An infamous game for the Reds due to two Loris Karius blunders that eventually gave Madrid the win.

UCL Final Lineup: YSN Edition

1. GK Allison Becker
2. LB Andy Robertson
3. CB Ibrahima Konaté
4. CB Virgil van Dijk
5. RB Trent Alexander-Arnold
6. CDM Fabinho
7. CM Thiago Alcantara
8. CM Jordan Henderson
9. LW Luis Diaz
10. ST Sadio Mane
11. RW Mohamed Salah

Bench

1. Naby Keita
2. Diogo Jota
3. Roberto Firmino
4. Joel Matip
5. Harvey Elliot
6. Caoimhin Kelleher
7. Joe Gomez
8. Divock Origi
9. James Milner
10. Takumi Minamino
11. Curtis Jones
12. Kostas Tsimikas

This time Allison Becker is between the sticks. This time it’s Luis Diaz on the wing along with Salah and Mane. This time it’s Ibou Konate paired with Virgil Van Dijk instead of Dejan Lovren. This time it’s Thiago in the midfield instead of James Milner. And Diogo Jota or Roberto Firmino coming off of the bench instead of Adam Lallana or Emre Can. It all comes down to May 28th in Paris. We are Liverpool and we never walk alone. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.