Should Liverpool try to win the treble? Emulating the great Manchester United feat is now harder than ever

Liverpool have never won the league, cup and in Europe within the same season, but doing so now would represent a much bigger challenge than what United faced 21 years ago

This time back in 1999, Manchester United beat Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round. There was no David Beckham or Paul Scholes in their starting line-up but Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole all played. Only four of Sir Alex Ferguson's XI could be described as anything less than regulars. They were all established first team squad members, at the very least.

Compare and contrast United's line-up that day with Liverpool's for the Merseyside derby. Jurgen Klopp made nine changes from last Thursday's win over Sheffield United, naming three teenagers and introducing another two from the substitutes’ bench. The match-winner Curtis Jones was making only his fifth senior career appearance. The youngest, 16-year-old Harvey Elliott, is younger than Greta Thunberg.

The comparison between the two line-ups is not made in order to show that the FA Cup is less compelling that it once was, nor is it meant to be a criticism of Liverpool. Their starting line-up was only sensible given the demands made of Klopp's squad over Christmas. The comparison is instead drawn in order to pose a question: in 2020, just how feasible – or just how desirable, even – is it to win the treble?

It is a conversation that Liverpool can now start to have. Their commanding lead at the top of the Premier League table means that a first domestic title in 30 years is highly likely, while their status as the reigning champions of Europe means they will enter the Champions League knock-out stages with confidence next month. Those competitions are unquestionably their priorities. Winning both would make this their most successful campaign since 1983-84 and arguably their greatest ever.

But adding the FA Cup to those two potential honours would make 2019-20 a unique achievement in Liverpool's 127-year history. It would not only equal the success of Ferguson's United 21 years ago but also that of the six other European sides to win their league, cup and rule Europe all in one season. That is a feat which has so far eluded English football's most successful club, yet one which is suddenly coming into view.

Is the risk worth the reward? In one sense, winning the treble has never been easier. As highlighted in these pages recently, the concentration of wealth at the top of world football means that trophies are increasingly shared among a shrinking circle of elite clubs. Five of the eight trebles ever won in European football have come since 1999. Of the seven clubs to win them, the first three – Celtic, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven – are unlikely to do so again. Liverpool are one of the few clubs that can.

But on the other hand, the slicker, faster and more intensive modern game means that physical demands on players have never been greater. The standard required to beat fellow elite clubs to trophies is generally higher too, which makes fighting on three fronts difficult. Unlike in 1999, rotation is now accepted as a necessary part of management and rest must be taken as and when the schedule allows.

Cups are increasingly seen as an opportunity to freshen legs rather than win silverware. Klopp has invariably taken that approach at during his time at Anfield, even naming below-strength sides in his first season while having relatively little to play for in the league. A change of tack now would risk more injuries like the one James Milner suffered on Sunday. Milner and Joe Gomez were the only ones retained from the Sheffield United win but, at a time when Klopp's midfield is light, he lost the former to a suspected hamstring problem.

Klopp was delighted with Sunday's victory but Milner was at the forefront of his mind in his post-match press conference. "Let's start with the negative things," he seethed. "Two players started the last game and one got injured. That's the situation we are in. That's why a lot of managers make changes." That, simply, is why he will not risk more than a handful of his regulars in this competition.

And how much value is truly added by winning a domestic cup, in any case? United's 2008 league and Champions League winners are generally not revered as much as the '99 side, but should we really think any less of them because they lost an FA Cup quarter-final to Portsmouth with Rio Ferdinand in goal? There is a fair argument that though not as iconic, United's '08 side were better than Ferguson's first champions of Europe.

Curtis Jones scored Liverpool's match-winner against Everton (Getty)

Imagine Liverpool end their long wait for a league title and defend their continental crown but are eliminated early from the FA Cup. Will they seriously dwell on that as a missed opportunity? The answer is probably not. You can therefore expect another second-string line-up in the fourth round and then beyond that too, if this team of fresh-faced adolescents and fringe players continue to do their bit in winning a historic – if somewhat accidental – treble.