[GOAL 네트워크] ‘Master who changed Liverpool’ Klopp welcomes 200 PL matches

Let’s take a look back to May 2nd, 2010. At the time, Liverpool was led by coach Rafael Benitez and fell to 7th place after losing home (0-2) to Chelsea, which eventually won the championship. After 200 PL matches, Jürgen Klopp took over as Liverpool manager.

---

Featured news | “​[영상] Qatar Organizing Chair “No problem preparing for the World Cup”

---

Now in January 2021, coach Klopp is heading for his 200th PL game in Liverpool. The opponent in this monumental match is Angsuk Manchester United (hereafter United).

Liverpool’s changes have been dramatic since Klopp’s appointment. During Benitez’s last two matches, as well as Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendon Rogers, Liverpool won 94 wins, 48 ​​draws and 58 losses in 200 PL matches. In contrast, in 199 games led by Klopp, he recorded 127 wins, 47 draws and 25 losses. Victory increased 33 times, defeat decreased 33 times. He got 98 more points.

Editor’s recommendation

Klopp beats most managers’ victories in their first 200 games with 127 wins before even leading 200 games in the PL. The only manager who won more than Klop in the first 200 games in the history of the tournament is Mourinho (137 wins), who won successively at Chelsea immediately after taking office.

These achievements are even more dramatic when compared to Liverpool’s performance just before Klop. Mourinho inherited Chelsea, who finished second in the previous season in Claudio Ranieri, and Alex Ferguson had already joined Manchester United at the time of the 1992/93 season PL inauguration six seasons later. Manchester City (Man City) was also a team that experienced two PL wins in the five seasons prior to Pep Guardiola’s appointment, and only once fell below second place during that period.

Even Liverpool finished fourth or above eight times in the 10 years before Benitez took over. But Liverpool at the time Klop took office was different. It was only once in the past six years that it was ranked 4th or higher. It is a story that the starting point was different compared to other directors.

Prior to coming to Liverpool, Klopp built a reputation as a successful manager in difficult conditions. In 2004, he led the lower league team Mainz to the first Bundesliga promotion in the club’s history, and led the golden age by winning two consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 to Borussia Dortmund, who was suffering from a dark age in the late 2000s. These achievements have helped to change Liverpool’s fate.

As a director, Klopp’s progress is clear. In his first 200 Bundesliga games (102 Mainz, 98 Dortmund), Klopp recorded 81 wins, 57 draws and 62 losses, and Dortmund alone scored 117 wins, 48 ​​draws and 35 losses in the first 200 Bundesliga games. That’s an impressive record, but in Liverpool, he entered the new ranks with 127 wins in 199 PL matches. As Liverpool manager, Klopp has already set the record for most PL wins.

So what about the players? Three of the five players who made the most PL appearances under Klop (Hoverto Firminu 186, James Milner 151, Jordan Henderson 142) were players who joined Liverpool before Klop’s appointment in October 2015 (and 2 others). The name was Giorgiño, 158 matches for Binaldum, and Sadio Manet for 143 matches).

First of all, Roberto Firminu was a player who was signed by Brendon Rogers at the time he took office. Under Klopp, he played 93% of the 199 PL games and became a’trust man’. Captain Henderson and deputy captain Milner were recruited during the careers of Kenny Dalglish and Rogers respectively, both of which have the most PL appearances under Klopp. Henderson debuted with Sunderland in 2008 and Milner with Leeds United in 2002.

The development of Klopp’s existing players was crucial to Liverpool’s success. Henderson was proudly named Player of the Year by the Journalists Association (PFW) for the 2019/20 season, and made a name in history as the captain of the Liverpool team, who won the first division in 30 years. When Henderson became the captain after Stephen Gerrard, few would have expected this success.

The player recruitment was also close to perfect. Key signings like Sadio Manet and Mohamed Salah took Liverpool to the next level. Since August 2017, when Manet and Salah began to set foot in an attacking triangle with Pirminu, the three players have scored a total of 183 goals in the league. These are the trio with the most goals in the top five leagues in Europe since the 2017/18 season. Only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (106 goals), Luis Suarez (62 goals) and Philippe Coutinho (15 goals) scored 183 goals, the same as the Liverpool Tripod.

Coutinho left for Barcelona in 2018 and became the most important transfer player since he took over as manager Klop. Coutinho, who placed fourth in attacking points in the PL under Klopp’s regime, helped Liverpool reinforce its defense by paying a huge transfer fee. The players signed by Coutinho’s transfer fund are defender Virgil Van Dyke and goalkeeper Alisson Becher.

Before Van Dyke joined Liverpool in January 2018, Liverpool scored 110 goals (1.2 runs per game) in 91 PL matches led by Klopp. However, since Van Dyke’s debut, it has decreased from 108 games to 86 runs and 0.8 runs per game.

Alisong joined in the summer of 2018, scoring 57 goals in 81 PL matches. This is 0.7 runs per game. Alisong is the lowest score among goalkeepers who have played more than 5000 minutes in PL history (1 goal per 127 minutes).

Two side defenders Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also compelling to mention. Robertson was recruited from the relegation team, Hull City, while Alexander-Arnold was from the Liverpool youth team. The two players are performing well enough to redefine their role as flank defenders.

In the PL, Robertson has 33 assists and Alexander-Arnold has 28 assists. Both have been at the top of the aid record since September 2017, when both players started playing at the same time. Manchester City’s Kevin De Breiner (45 assists) is the only player who has recorded more help than those during this period. But De Breiner is a midfielder, while Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are defenders.

---

Featured news | “​[영상] Mourinho’s first press conference”

---

Looking at these records, we can see that Coach Klopp had a good balance of everything throughout the air. From an offensive triangle, midfield leadership, flank defenders’ creativity and solid defense, Klopp’s Liverpool has it all.

Coach Klopp’s 200th PL game is a perfect match against Manchester United. Manchester United is the only team with more first division titles than Liverpool and the most defeated player in the PL against Liverpool. In fact, coach Klopp was also weaker than any other opponent with only 1.22 points per game against Manchester United.

The team that wins Liverpool versus Manchester United becomes the PL leader. Besides Klop’s 200th game, motivation is more than ever. The match will be held at Liverpool’s home stadium Anfield at 1:30 am on January 18th Korean time. Let’s keep an eye on whether Klopp will be able to win 200 matches in this important match.

Translation: Yong-Hoon Lee (Stats Performance)