The 7-0 thrashing of Man Utd, that epic ‘corner taken quickly’ Barcelona comeback & Jurgen Klopp’s greatest wins as Liverpool manager – ranked

Nobody was entirely sure what to expect from Liverpool ahead of the 2023-24 season after the loss of some key leaders during the summer transfer window and a midfield overhaul that hadn’t gone quite according to plan. A patchy performance on the opening day against Chelsea appeared to confirm that the Reds were a team in transition.

However, fans got their first sign that the “mentality monsters” were back when they came from a goal down to defeat Newcastle despite having been down to 10 men from the 28th minute following Virgil van Dijk’s dismissal.

Klopp’s in-game management had been key, with the manager making a couple of positive second-half substitutions, including the introduction of Darwin Nunez, who scored twice in the final nine minutes. “With 10 men, in my history, I have never had something like that at Newcastle, in this stadium with that atmosphere,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “It is crazy!”

Klopp was absolutely fuming after seeing his side race into a 3-0 lead over Totteham at Anfield inside 15 minutes, only to drop off and concede an injury-time equaliser to Spurs striker Richarlison. Liverpool weren’t done, though, with Diogo Jota deciding a ridiculous game in the hosts’ favour with just seconds to go.

The Reds boss, who has never been a fan of referees, responded by running to celebrate in the face of the fourth official, but injured himself in the process, leaving him more than a little red-faced in his post-match interviews.

“I’m not sure if it’s the hamstring,” he explained to BBC Sport, “it could be the adductor. But I got punished. Little sins. I turned around for the celebration because the fourth official got nothing wrong the whole time. I didn’t say anything bad, I just gave a look, which is bad enough. The hamstring or whatever the muscle [is] gave up in that moment. That’s fair.”

Liverpool’s 10-month unbeaten run in the Premier League looked set to come to an end at Villa Park, with the hosts 1-0 up with just three minutes of normal time remaining thanks to Trezeguet’s first-half strike. However, Andy Robertson headed home an equaliser before Sadio Mane nodded in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner in the sixth minute of injury-time.

The victory restored Liverpool’s six-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table and continues to be considered a pivotal moment in the club’s first championship success for 30 years.

Klopp unsurprisingly found it tough going early on in his Liverpool tenure, as he attempted to clean up the mess left behind by Brendan Rodgers, and results weren’t particularly good during those first few months at the helm.

However, it was clear that he was forming a special bond with his players during the crazy 5-4 victory at Carrow Road that saw Adam Lallana break Klopp’s glasses during the spirited touchline celebrations that followed the attacking midfielder’s 95th-minute winner against Norwich.

“Usually I have a second pair, but until now I couldn’t find it because it’s really difficult to look for glasses without glasses,” Klopp joked afterwards.

Liverpool were left crestfallen after losing the 2016 League Cup final to Manchester City on penalties, but Klopp’s powers of motivation were on show just three days later as the Reds overwhelmed the same side at Anfield. Man-of-the-match Lallana, James Milner and Roberto Firmino got the goals in what was the best display of ‘gegenpressing’ they had produced up until that point under their new manager.

“City had no time to play football,” an immensely proud Klopp said after a resounding win over their Premier League title-chasing opponents. “For all Liverpool lovers, it was a great night. It was the best reaction I can imagine. It was how it should be.”

He then famously added, “The best word I can say to describe this is: Boom!”

Everton looked set to claim a hard-earned point at Anfield when Jordan Pickford failed to deal with a Virgil van Dijk mishit that dropped onto the crossbar – and then onto the head of Divock Origi, whose 96th-minute winner sparked wild celebrations. Indeed, Klopp completely lost control, sprinting onto the pitch to celebrate with Alisson!

“First of all, I have to apologise for my run,” he said in his post-match interview. “I apologised immediately after to Marco Silva, as I didn’t want to be disrespectful. The goal was lucky, of course, but our idea was clear: we wanted to win until the last second.”

Liverpool found themselves in real danger of missing out on Champions League football during the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season. At one point, the Reds lost six consecutive games at an empty Anfield and had dropped to eighth in the Premier League table in March.

However, Klopp’s side ended up finishing third thanks to a 10-match unbeaten run that featured a sensational 2-1 victory at West Brom that came courtesy of an injury-time winner from goalkeeper Alisson, whose father had passed away just three months previously.

“We are really close and know exactly what it means to him,” Klopp said. “It’s outstanding, really touching. It’s only football, but it means the world to us.”

The moment that Klopp knew Liverpool were going to win the title? He didn’t admit it at the time, obviously, but the Reds moved eight points clear at the top of the table after a display of almost-relentless ferocity that the reigning champions simply couldn’t live with.

“What a game” Klopp told BBC Radio 5 Live after a match featuring two goals inside the opening 13 minutes from Fabinho and Mohamed Salah, the second of which arrived after the kind of outstanding play from Liverpool’s full-backs that had come to define their game. “If you want to win against City, you have to do something special and we had to be intense.

“When City started to control it more in the last 15 minutes, it was tense, but then you saw the quality and what the boys can do it. The boys played 75 minutes of unbelievable stuff.”

An incredible come-from-behind win at Anfield offered further evidence that Klopp was building something special. After a 1-1 draw away to Dortmund, Liverpool twice found themselves needing to score three goals to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Incredibly, they eventually pulled it off, with Philippe Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho drawing the hosts level on the night at 3-3 but, crucially, still trailing on the away goals rule. However, Dejan Lovren got his head on a Milner cross to complete an amazing comeback.

“I reminded the players about Liverpool being 3-0 down in the Champions League final,” Klopp revealed, citing the 2005 miracle of Istanbul. “It was brilliant, outstanding, emotional. Very often in football the game is over then, but not here, not with this Liverpool team.”

After a trying 2020-21 season, the resurgent Reds piled pressure on Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with their biggest-ever away win over their greatest rivals. Salah was unsurprisingly Old Trafford’s tormentor-in-chief, scoring a hat-trick, but Naby Keita and Jota were also on target as Liverpool maintained their unbeaten Premier League start.

“A really good day,” Klopp said, “a big one. I got told it never happened before. Writing our own little chapter in the history of the club. People will talk about it in the future because it won’t happen again in a long time, if ever…”

Liverpool struggled for long stretches of the 2022-23 campaign, with the previous season’s quadruple bid having taken a heavy toll on several senior players. So, their inconsistency, coupled with Manchester United’s revival under new manager Erik ten Hag, only made this victory all the more shocking.

Cody Gakpo, Nunez and Salah, who became Liverpool’s all-time leading Premier League goal-scorer, all struck twice, while Firmino added the final touch to the biggest beating this famous fixture has ever seen.

“Spectacular football game,” Klopp enthused on Sky Sports. “Outstanding. We played top football against the team in form. No words!”

Liverpool were shorn of the services of 11 senior squad members through injury for the 2024 Carabao Cup final against Chelsea and then lost Ryan Gravenberch during the first half after a horrific tackle from Moises Caicedo.

Klopp ended up putting faith in youth, bringing on three teenagers in James McConnell, Bobby Clark and Jayden Danns, as well as the 20-year-old Jarell Quansah – all of whom were outstanding as the Reds claimed victory thanks to Van Dijk’s extra-time header.

“In my more than 20 years, it was easily the most special trophy I have ever won,” Klopp admitted. “It maybe being my last game at Wembley has nothing to do with it. It was about how everybody contributed with the kids.”

Let’s be honest, the all-English Champions League final of 2019 was a terrible game, but it meant the absolute world to Liverpool and particularly Klopp, as it represented his first trophy as Reds boss after three consecutive final defeats. Salah, who had been injured in the devastating loss to Real Madrid in Kyiv the year before, opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Origi sealed victory with a smart finish late on.

“Did you ever see a team like this, fighting with no fuel in the tank?” he asked reporters. “I am so happy for the boys, all these people and my family. They suffer for me, they deserve it more than anybody. It was an intense season with the most beautiful finish I ever could have imagined. It is the best night of our professional lives.”

“Corner taken quickly….” Anfield has seen many great European nights over the years, but nothing tops this.

Liverpool were 3-0 down going into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona and without both Salah and Firmino through injury. And yet Klopp’s “f*cking mentality monsters” utterly overwhelmed Lionel Messi & Co., turning the tie around with two goals apiece from Origi and Gini Wijnaldum.

“If I have to describe this club then it’s a big heart, and tonight it was pounding like crazy,” Liverpool’s visibly stunned manager said afterwards. “Tonight, you could hear it all over the world.”