When were Liverpool last without Champions League football?

Having taken in every possible fixture available to them in 2021-22 – which worked out at 63 in total – Liverpool entered the 2022-23 campaign confident that more challenges for major honours at home and abroad would be pieced together.

Jürgen Klopp’s side were, however, to stumble out of the blocks and defences of FA Cup and League Cup crowns were over by the end of January. Around the same time, with three defeats suffered in four outings immediately after the turn of the calendar year, Premier League progress was not going to plan either.

Contenders

Having been contenders for every trophy up for grabs, a matter of months later the Reds were not only in serious danger of ending the current season empty-handed, but without Champions League qualification to offer a crumb of comfort.

A spark was required from somewhere, and it came in the form of a five-match unbeaten run from mid-February that delivered four precious victories – including the record-breaking 7-0 demolition of Manchester United that helped to put a smile on the most miserable of Merseyside faces.

With Klopp delivering the perfect response to any doubters and Mohamed Salah re-writing the history books, Liverpool suddenly began to look more like their former selves. With momentum re-established, ultimate targets could be revised.

A steady climb up the Premier League table saw many bookmakers such as William Hill betting odds relating to top-four finishes trim the Reds in to 7/4, with their renewed hope at Anfield that return tickets to the most glamorous of European parties could be secured.

While accustomed to being the chased, rather than the chasers, Liverpool once again had rivals looking anxiously over collective shoulders. Klopp said: “The important thing about the chase is that the chase is not a one-day trip. It is not that if we are in no man’s land. And that is clear. The other teams know we are still around, and that's better than if they can’t see us anymore.” 

There are still plenty of hurdles to clear in order for the season to be considered a success, but the Reds are well versed in facing the kind of challenges that lie in store.

You have to turn the clock back to 2016-17 to find the last time that Liverpool found themselves without Champions League football. That was Klopp’s first full season at the helm, with the German only able to deliver an eighth-place finish after inheriting the managerial reins from Brendan Rodgers.

Expectation

While history is on their side, the Reds are aware that nobody is going to do them any favours and that expectation can be a dangerous thing. Klopp has added: “If we don’t win, we depend on the results of others teams, and that’s a bad situation in football. We have to win football games and see where we end up.”

Liverpool need to find a way of ensuring that fate rests in their own hands. They have done so before, on countless occasions, and will feel a lot better about themselves heading forward if a season that was in danger of imploding at one stage can yet be salvaged.

Written by Alan Spencer