From Stamford Bridge to Munich via Wembley, DOMINIC KING compiles the 10 most significant games of Jurgen Klopp’s nine-year reign at Liverpool
Compiling a list of Jurgen Klopp’s 10 best games would be easy and even if you weren’t a Liverpool fan you could name them.
But what about his most important games? This is something different and the additions in this list, which runs chronologically, may be surprising.
DOMINIC KING had a ringside seat during Klopp’s trip with Liverpool. He left home and away for eight years and saw the impact the results had on the evolution of the team and the club.
This is his personal take on the key events and turning points that brought the good times back to Anfield.
Mail Sport looks back at the ten most important victories from Jürgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool
Supporters have taken the charismatic and passionate Klopp to their hearts and will bid him a fond farewell on Sunday
Since his arrival in 2015, the German manager has built a strong bond with the club
1 – Chelsea, away; October 31, 2015. Won 3-1 (Coutinho 2, Benteke)
Even now, nine years later, the incidents of this day can still be easily remembered. Ramires gave Chelsea an early lead, Klopp immediately got out of his chair and stood up straight, taking the fight to Jose Mourinho and his staff. It worked. This was him saying Liverpool would not be intimidated.
While Klopp roared at his players – James Milner got a special earwax – Mourinho fumed and spent his time arguing with match officials. Chelsea melted, with inspiration from Philippe Coutinho. It was Klopp’s first win in the Premier League and he faced questions about the Champions League
He slid down a wall in the tunnel, right at the top and in a theatrical manner. He saw referee Mark Clattenburg leave Stamford Bridge as the line of inquiry developed and shouted: ‘They’re asking me for the top four!’ Clattenburg simply replied, “Welcome to England.”
Klopp passed a stern test against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea early in his reign at the club
2 – Borussia Dortmund, home; April 14, 2016. Won 4-3 (Origi, Coutinho, Sakho, Lovren)
The story of the comeback is well told, but its importance was the taste it gave everyone in the stadium for the good times, the nights that gave Liverpool its reputation.
Klopp had told his team on arrival that he was a manager who wanted to play in the Champions League and he got his group to agree with what he said.
James Milner and Daniel Sturridge combined to set up the winner for Dejan Lovren and tried to go one step further, embodying what he preached.
Dejan Lovren’s late winner against Borussia Dortmund gave fans a taste of what was to come
3 – Leicester City, home; September 10, 2016. Won 4-1 (Firmino 2, Mane, Lallana)
This was the day the Klopp era really began. There had been a good preseason in California, a lot of money had been spent on newcomers and expectations were high.
They then played their three games away from home and took four points from nine.
What would happen when the champions arrived? A blitzkrieg, that’s what it is. When the new main stand was first opened, a different energy swept through the club. It was a statement win and Roberto Firmino in particular started to blossom.
A decisive win over Leicester early in the 2016/2017 season set Liverpool’s momentum in motion
4 – Middlesbrough, home; May 21, 2017. Won 3-0 (Wijnaldum, Coutinho, Lallana)
Looking back, the task was simple: beat an already relegated team at home and finish fourth. The reality was somewhat different.
Liverpool just had to win, not qualifying for the Champions League was not an option.
When Coutinho scored the crucial second goal, Mike Gordon, John W. Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool’s soon-to-be owners, looked up to the heavens and shouted with relief.
A comprehensive victory over Middlesbrough on the final day secured Champions League football
5 – Manchester City, home; January 14, 2018. Won 4-3 (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Firmino, Mane, Salah)
Klopp was no stranger to beating Manchester City at home, but this was different.
The nine minutes in the second half when they went from 1-1 to 4-1 and Andy Robertson was pressing like an out-of-control express train lit a fuse. This told you that a real team was forming.
They would face criticism in the coming months, even losing the Champions League final in Kiev to Real Madrid. But that freezing afternoon was like they had unlocked two new levels on a PlayStation and their trajectory was going up.
An Andy Robertson-inspired win against Man City in 2018 set the tone for what was to come
6 – Bayern Munich, away; March 13, 2019. Won 3-1 (Manen 2, Van Dijk)
Liverpool’s best European performance in a generation. The compliment couldn’t be higher.
After a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie, the assumption was that Bayern would breeze past them.
What Bayern got was the shock of their lives. They couldn’t get close to Liverpool, couldn’t deal with their skills, their aggression or their finishing ability. Klopp’s affection for this performance – given who it was against – is enormous.
Liverpool’s biggest European night away from Anfield in a generation was a 3-1 win over Bayern Munich
7 – Barcelona, home; May 7, 2019. Won 4-0 (Origi 2, Wijnaldum 2)
You know what happened, you about Anfield’s best night. The aspects that will stay with this observer forever are the interview he gave, away from the cameras, during his pre-match press conference. Listening to him, you immediately knew that Klopp didn’t think 3-0 was a final score.
Then there was the aftermath of the match. As he sat by the tunnel with a laptop on my knee, trying to meet the deadline, Klopp started walking towards me. Instinctively he gave a high five.
Forget what happened in Madrid on June 1. This was actually the moment when Liverpool won their sixth European Cup.
An incredible comeback against Barcelona laid the foundation for the Reds’ sixth European Cup
8 – Burnley, away; August 31, 2019. Won 3-0 (Wood og, Mane, Firmino)
Why this game? Supporters still bask in the glory of beating Tottenham and talk about past deeds. The team, on the other hand, was absolutely different. The past was gone, the future was what mattered and the Premier League had to be won.
Burnley were torn to pieces – Firmino was breathtaking, the final score could have been 6-0 – but the one unforgettable element was the post-match.
To a man, the team walked out stone-faced, definitely in the zone. Easy to forget that they won 26 games that year and drew one of their first 27 games.
A highly professional defeat of Burnley showed the Reds were ready to build on their European success
9 – Manchester United, home; April 19, 2022. Won 4-0 (Diaz, Salah 2, Mane)
There have been so many memorable games against their bitterest rivals, but this was different from the erratic 7-0 at Anfield and the excellent 5-1 at Old Trafford.
This was the night that laid bare the gulf in class and the directions the two clubs had gone during the Klopp era.
You never doubted for a second that Liverpool were going to dismantle United and that’s exactly what they did: Thiago Alcantara’s performance in midfield was a sight to behold. Klopp looked almost apologetic when he shook hands with his friend Ralf Rangnick afterwards.
A 4-0 win against Man United in 2022 was final proof of the rift that had developed between the bitter rivals during Klopp’s tenure
10 – Chelsea, Wembley; February 25, 2024. Won 1-0 (Van Dijk)
Relying on a bare-bones squad, Klopp’s final trophy as Liverpool boss is perhaps the best example of his management excellence
The last of his eight trophies and perhaps the best example you can see of him as a coach. He didn’t think about the injuries that destroyed the build-up and found the solutions from within, without complaining for a moment.
Young men got off the couch to have the time of their lives; Signs once viewed with skepticism, such as Wataru Endo, had enormous influence, only for the leaders – this time Virgil van Dijk – to step up when it mattered most.
Sentiments, you could say, that define the Jürgen Klopp era as a whole.