After a tricky start to Liverpool’s European campaign, Arne Slot and his team will be hoping to build on the club’s historic legacy in the competition.
A 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray, and some less-than-ideal performances have left many questioning whether this current side is able to add a seventh Champions League title to the trophy cabinet.
If the past is anything to go by, then Slot’s side are in good stead to qualify for the knockout stages.
Source: UEFA.com
In the last 14 campaigns in Europe’s elite competition, The Reds have only failed to qualify on two occasions, further emphasising the team’s credentials in the competition.
Following the defeat away in Turkey, Liverpool are only one loss away from last season’s campaign total, where they lost to PSG at home, which led to The Reds being eliminated on penalties, and defeated by PSV Eindhoven on the final game week.
With three matches at Anfield to come, including a tough game against 15 times Champions League champions Real Madrid, captain Virgil van Dijk will be hoping to lead his teammates into the knockout stages like so many other Liverpool teams have done in the past.
The Reds have on average achieved seven victories across a Champions League campaign in the last two decades so if they can continue that kind of form for the rest of the competition, can expect an easy route through into the knockouts.
Source: UEFA.com
Even from looking at the data, winning every game does not mean you are destined to win the trophy.
If you look at both 2004/05 and 2018/19 where Liverpool won their fifth and sixth Champions League trophy respectively, eight wins were achieved.
But if you look at 2021/22, the team secured ten wins but were defeated by Real Madrid in the final.
It can also come down to the luck of the draw.
In last season’s campaign, Slot’s men finished top of the group stage but were paired up in the knockout rounds against eventual champions Paris Saint Germain.
In the 2018/19 edition of the competition, Klopp’s team got themselves to the final where they faced Tottenham, who ended the season in fourth place in the Premier League. A much more favourable side to play against.
Can Slot and his newest recruits find a way to gel in this newly transformed side and begin to find some rhythm so they can challenge for both the Champions League and the Premier League?
A lot of improvement is needed in both attacking and defending departments, but with the amount of individual quality in the squad, you’d expect it to click eventually.
