Liverpool FC ended a 30-year wait for league title glory by clinching the Premier League this season through an impressive run of performances throughout the season. Jurgen Klopp’s side fended off competition from their immediate title challengers Manchester City for their 19th league title in the Merseyside club’s famed history.
With the current Reds’ first-team squad being rightly considered by many as one of the greatest sides in Premier League history, there are certain players who have not performed as per expectations of the Liverpool FC supporters. Some members of the title-winning squad have been under-par in their showings for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season in the Premier League.
Let us take a look at five such Liverpool FC players who experienced an indifferent Premier League season on a personal note.
5. Roberto Firmino
Despite the Brazilian being a crucial part of Klopp’s setup at the Merseyside club, Firmino has endured rather an indifferent league campaign this season for the Reds. The 28-year old forward has been instrumental in creating chances for his teammates, however, has lacked the goalscoring instinct shown by him in previous seasons.
Firmino has scored just nine goals in 37 league appearances this season for Liverpool FC. The forward was on course to set an infamous record of not having scored a single goal at home throughout the season, before finding the back of the net in the Reds’ recent 5-3 victory over Chelsea at Anfield.
Despite the 28-year old’s importance to the Liverpool FC side going way beyond his goalscoring prowess, Firmino certainly has enjoyed better seasons in the Reds’ shirt than the current one.
4. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain
An influential presence both on and off the field for the Reds, Chamberlain’s performances this season had lacked a certain flair that has become associated with the midfielder’s style of play. It has to be noted that the 26-year old’s showings in the Champions League have been much more convincing, scoring thrice in the five games he has played in the competition.
However, the midfielder’s displays in the Premier League have been lackluster, to say the least. The 2019-20 season was Chamberlain’s first season to have been played in its eternity by the player. A horrific knee injury sustained by the 26-year old had curtailed Chamberlain’s initial season at Liverpool FC short, followed by the player appearing sporadically in the second half of the last season.
Appearing in 29 league games, the former Arsenal man has scored only four times. He has been given frequent starts by Jurgen Klopp due to injuries suffered by fellow midfielder’s Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. However, Chamberlain has failed to capitalize upon the opportunities to cement his spot in Klopp’s preferred midfield trio.
3. Takumi Minamino
Many people would not consider Minamino to be an under-par performer for the Reds this season due to the fact that he signed for the Merseyside club only this year in January. However, in the minutes awarded to him on the pitch by Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp, the Japan international is yet to open his account for his new side and make a significant impression on his new teammates.
A very modest purchase for the Reds costing the Premier League champions only £7.25 million, it is fair to say that the 25-year old attacker has a lot to prove following his arrival at Anfield. In the nine league outings he has got so far, Minamino has lacked his attacking sense of play that made him a star for his former side RB Salzburg.
Starts awarded to the forward by Klopp in FA Cup ties have also been unable to boost Minamino’s confidence in front of goal. However, it is still early to label the otherwise talented Minamino a flop signing for the Reds. The Japan international will surely be looking forward to next season for making his mark on the Liverpool FC squad and repaying Jurgen Klopp’s faith in signing him.
2. Dejan Lovren
The Croatian defender has always endured mixed fortunes while playing for the Reds ever since arriving at the club from Southampton back in 2014. However, the current season has seen very few first-team opportunities come Lovren’s way.
The 31-year center-back has fallen down the pecking order at Liverpool FC, with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip establishing themselves as options to be fielded alongside Virgil van Dijk. Even in the games Lovren has started for the Reds this season in the Premier League, the Croatian international’s performances have not the most encouraging ones for Klopp to give more game time to the defender.
The player has made frequent errors in misjudging aerial balls and mistiming his tackles in just ten Premier League appearances made by him this season. Lovren looks certain to leave Liverpool FC this summer with Zenit Saint Petersburg reported to have opened talks with the player over contract terms.
1. Xherdan Shaqiri
The Swiss winger, who enjoyed a terrific first season at the Merseyside giants, despite being a squad-rotation option, endured a rather frustrating second year as a Red. Shaqiri made just seven league appearances for Liverpool FC this season, a number that is shockingly low for any player of his caliber.
As opposed to the six goals and three assists recorded by the 28-year old last season, the attacker scored just once for Jurgen Klopp’s side in their title-winning campaign. A series of injuries, including a major calf problem, severely curtailed Shaqiri’s playing minutes on the pitch.
In the Swiss international’s absence, Klopp gave Divock Origi and 17-year old starlet Harvey Elliot more time on the pitch to impress as backup-options to Liverpool FC’s formidable front three.
