Why Liverpool Should Put All Their Eggs in the UEFA Europa League Basket
With eight games left to play in their Premier League campaign, Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool squad will be evaluating their position and establishing their priorities: continue their push for an unlikely top-four placing, or go all out for success in this season's UEFA Europa League.
At the beginning of the season, captain Jordan Henderson identified a top-four finish and a trophy as the Reds' objectives for the months ahead, telling the club's official website (h/t Kristian Walsh of the Liverpool Echo) that "we’ve got to keep going, keep working hard and pushing ourselves to the limits."
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"I think definitely winning something [is key], winning a trophy," the midfielder explained. "It would be big for the players, it would be big for the club and obviously for the fans, I think that’s a big aim for us this season. Also getting back in the top four and the Champions League."
But having endured the turbulence of managerial change and another considerable injury crisis this season, Liverpool seemingly have a decision to make as they push forward in the business end of 2015/16.
With the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash with Borussia Dortmund to come on Thursday night, Klopp's Liverpool should turn their focus on Europe's second-tier competition—as it is their best chance to enjoy tangible success this season, and qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.
Welcoming Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield on Saturday, Liverpool found themselves in something of a make-or-break situation. Victory over the title challengers would have cut the distance between the Reds and their top-four rivals, while defeat would have all but quashed their hopes of Champions League qualification.
As Harry Kane's excellent strike cancelled out Philippe Coutinho's opener, however, Liverpool found themselves no closer to a conclusion.
Held to a point by Mauricio Pochettino's side, the Reds still find themselves within touching distance of the top four.
After 30 games, Liverpool sit ninth in the Premier League, with 45 points; and with a game in hand over fourth-placed Manchester City, they are just nine points behind the favourites for a top-four finish.
Between them and City, however, stand Stoke City, Southampton, West Ham United and Manchester United, and with the latter pair enjoying strong form in recent weeks—the Hammers have taken 11 points from their last five games, while United have won four of their last five outings in the league—Liverpool have a considerable challenge ahead of them to surpass this group.
Largely outperforming Spurs at Anfield, Klopp's side showed their ability to challenge at the top end of the Premier League, with their high-intensity pressing game allowing the likes of Coutinho and Adam Lallana to overrun Pochettino's back line.
Only poor finishing from the out-of-sorts Daniel Sturridge kept Liverpool from sealing victory, providing Klopp with much encouragement heading forward; particularly given the German was without his second-highest goalscorer, nine-goal Roberto Firmino.
Per Walsh of the Liverpool Echo, Klopp stressed his belief that his side are not as far from Spurs as the Premier League table suggests:
"If you want to write something that makes sense about this game, then think about if there should be seven positions between us.
If not, then we have to think about how we can close this gap. I saw a few really good signs that this could be possible.
We still have to develop a few things but we are on a good way. They didn’t run more than us today. In the last few weeks it was really good from my team.
I think we created more chances, we had more shots on goal, more ball possession—maybe second half that changed a little bit, but first half for sure.
We pressed better. That’s all true. But they have more points, that’s true too.
"
This echoed the words of 22-year-old midfielder Emre Can who, speaking to German publication Kicker (h/t the club's official website) during the international break, said that "you should not only look at the standings," before underlining that "a berth in [a European] competition clearly has to remain our goal."
However, Liverpool's best chance of securing that berth in the Champions League—rather than its lower-reputation counterpart—comes in the Europa League.
This is something that Reds left-back Alberto Moreno alluded to at the end of March, when he told the club's official website: "We still believe that we can win it. The Premier League is more difficult but we are working really hard to get a higher position in the table."
Klopp's squad may have privately acknowledged the challenge ahead of them in the Premier League, and this would be wise—as only five games stand between the Reds and glory in the Europa League.
Two of these come against Klopp's former side, Dortmund, with the 48-year-old taking his squad to the Westfalenstadion on Thursday before entertaining the Bundesliga challengers at Anfield a week later.
Revived under Thomas Tuchel, Dortmund are "runaway favourites" to win the Europa League this season according to Klopp, who told Dortmund publication Ruhr Nachrichten (h/t ESPN FC) in March that "on a good day, and we'll definitely need it, [when we] put our plan into action we have a chance."
Taking the momentum of their last-16 victory over Manchester United—and Klopp's knowledge of the Dortmund squad—into their quarter-final, Liverpool have a strong chance of vanquishing Tuchel's side over two legs.
With the majority of his squad finding fitness and form at this crucial stage of the season, and Firmino likely to return to first-team selection in time for Thursday, Klopp can field his strongest side and be confident of taking Dortmund to the wire.
Surpass Dortmund, and Liverpool's chances of success in the Europa League are boosted significantly, with their potential semi-final opponents comprised of Villarreal, Sparta Prague, Sporting Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Club Bilbao and Sevilla—all considerably weaker than Tuchel's side.
Triumph in the Europa League would see Liverpool go close to matching Henderson's pre-season objectives, having secured a trophy and passage to next season's Champions League.
In doing so, the Reds could provide themselves with the perfect platform to build for sustained success in Klopp's first full season in charge in 2016/17, and a crucial bargaining chip in strengthening the German's squad this summer.
A reasonable finish in the Premier League, after battling valiantly with Stoke, Southampton, West Ham and United, pales in comparison.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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