Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp: Comparing his first starting XI to now

It’s a great time to be a Liverpool fan.

For many years the club suffered through mediocrity at the hands of managers who couldn’t quite elevate the club enough to put the Reds back amongst the European elite.

Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez, Brendan Rodgers, they all came close, ultimately though, Liverpool fans had to watch rival clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea dominate on English soil.

Until Jurgen Klopp took over…

When the German arrived at Anfield in 2015 hope was restored throughout Kopites as he set out his plan to change the club from ‘doubters to believers’ and boy did he succeed at that.

Success wasn’t instantaneous though, in fact, it was far from it. Liverpool didn’t lift their first piece of silverware under Klopp until 2019 and that can be attributed to the sheer scale of the re-building project he had to undertake.

Let’s compare the Liverpool squad Klopp put out in his very first game as manager and then we can really get a sense of how far the club has come.

GK- Simon Mignolet

RB- Nathaniel ClyneCB- Martin SkrtelCB- Mamadou SakhoLB- Alberto Moreno

CDM- Lucas LeivaCDM- Emre CanRAM- James MilnerCAM- Philippe Coutinho LAM- Adam Lallana

ST- Divock Origi

Let’s break that down then. Just two players remain at the club from that matchday squad – James Milner and Divock Origi. Both of which have played integral parts in the Klopp revolution, although are now far from being the first names on the team sheet.

Phillipe Coutinho was an outstanding player in those days, Emre Can and Martin Skrtel were solid competitors, whilst Adam Lallana was always a talent; however, that team is so far away from being a competitive Champions League outfit – it was Europa League quality at best.

What about the