Liverpool’s season was looking rosy, but in recent days it has been cut short a little, preventing Arne Slot’s team from accumulating titles this season. On the positive side, they continue to maintain a wide lead in the Premier League where the only team to challenge them for the top spot is Arsenal, but they are far ahead. In the Champions League they were clear favorites to win the title, however, at the first hurdle and after leading the group stage, they were knocked out of the competition in the round of sixteen.
Goodbye Champions League
Liverpool started as clear favorites in this year’s Champions League, but nevertheless fell in the round of 16. Paris Saint-Germain, far superior to Liverpool in the overall tie, forced extra time at Anfield (0-1) thanks to a goal from Dembélé… and made it into the quarterfinals thanks to Donnarumma’s hand. The goalkeeper saved two penalties in an epic finale to level the tie against Aston Villa for Luis Enrique’s side.
The coach of , Arne Slot, expressed his disbelief after the club’s elimination from the Champions League. “It was the best game of football I’ve ever been a part of. It was an incredible performance, especially when compared to last week. We were creating chances and then we went 1-0 down. Our luck ran out after last week. We felt we deserved more than to go 1-0 down. We played a perfect game, except for scoring a goal. It was similar to what happened in Paris last week, when they played a perfect game. And then, in extra time, they were maybe a little better.
Carabao Cup, also out
The black week with the Champions League elimination did not end there. Just a few days after Paris Saint-Germain knocked out the unbeatable group stage winners in an agonizing penalty shootout at Anfield, Liverpool lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle (1-2). No Champions League or League Cup in six days.
Liverpool, with an inconsequential Mohamed Salah for whom social networks were filled with criticism for having ‘gone off’ at the crucial moment of the season, only reacted in added time with a goal from Federico Chiesa. “It must be Liverpool’s worst performance in a major final since 1988,” wrote James Pearce, journalist for The Athletic.
Priority objective at Liverpool
With this outlook, without it being a lost season as they will surely win the league title, it is not surprising that the club’s management is considering what went wrong and is already working at full capacity looking for replacements for key players such as the left-back.
The Reds want to boost a position for which they currently have Andy Robertson, who seems to have lost the full confidence of the coach. Like Real Madrid, their first targets were Davies and Nuno Mendes, but both have extended their contracts with their current clubs.
In recent days a new name has appeared on the agenda, Milos Kerkez, a Hungarian full-back who plays for Bournemouth. This season, the defender has established himself as a key player in the team of Spaniard Andoni Iraola (32 official matches, two goals and five assists).
The full-back has a contract that runs until June 2028 and his transfer could be worth around 40 million pounds (just over €47 million). Despite interest from other clubs in Germany and Italy, some sources suggest that Liverpool and Madrid are the favorites.