Reclaiming a regular place among European royalty is Liverpool’s greatest proof of progress

Now among the favourites to win any given competition, the Reds have come from a long way back since Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside, writes Richard Jolly

(Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

It is scarcely difficult to find signs of the transformation of Liverpool in the Jurgen Klopp years. There is the gleaming new training ground and Anfield’s giant Main Stand, visible across much of the Liverpool skyline, in which the German is talking. There is the team which Pep Guardiola has described as one of the best in history.

But another eluded even Klopp, the architect of their success. Now Liverpool’s season could be judged in the context of a possible, and unprecedented, quadruple. Rewind a few years and a top-four finish represented a triumphant campaign in itself. And yet when Liverpool booked their spot in next season’s Champions League, Klopp did not realise.

“We did it two games ago after the Manchester United game and it slipped through my fingers, which has never happened before in my life,” he reflected. “Usually we really celebrate that.”