Where are they now? Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool reigning champions that lost four in a row | OneFootball

Liverpool have become only the fourth reigning champions to lose four Premier League games in a row, after Leicester City in 2016-17, Liverpool themselves in 2020-21, and Manchester City last term.

The hope of retaining the title appears in tatters for Arne Slot’s Reds, who appear to have suffered a complete system breakdown across their four defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford.

But how does this Liverpool team compare to their last reigning champions? We’ve taken a look at Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool XI who lost 2-0 at home to Everton in February 2021, their fourth successive league defeat at the time.

GK: Alisson Becker

The Brazilian is still at Anfield, of course, and remains one of the best ‘keepers in the world. When fit and available.

As with a couple of the other marquee signings in the Klopp era, he was a key pillar under Slot when Liverpool won their second title of the Premier League era.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

You know the story with this one.

Alexander-Arnold’s defending was often criticised across his nine years of service for his hometown club.

But they haven’t looked any more sound at the back since his departure, while they’re clearly missing his distribution from deep and link-up play with Salah.

He hasn’t exactly hit the ground running at Real Madrid. Injuries and competition from Dani Carvajal have limited his gametime. One to watch as the season progresses.

CB: Ozan Kabak

It’s all flooding back now, isn’t it?

Liverpool going from emphatic champions to a side that barely scraped the top four was largely down to a defensive injury crisis, in particular the ACL suffered by inspirational leader Virgil van Dijk.

Turkey international Ozan Kabak arrived as a defensive reinforcement in the winter window, but he did not convince. Liverpool unsurprisingly didn’t take up the option to sign him permanently.

A similarly rubbish loan followed at Norwich City, telling you a thing or two about his level. He’s now back in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and recently returned from an ACL injury that left him sidelined for over 500 days.

CB: Jordan Henderson (Nathaniel Phillips, ’30)

This isn’t a mistake. That’s really Hendo at centre-back. Dark days for Klopp’s Liverpool.

The former captain was highly criticised for going to the Saudi Pro League in 2023. He lasted six months there before returning to Europe, rebuilding his reputation at Ajax and – currently – Brentford.

“In Holland, they cannot stop talking about how much Ajax is missing Jordan Henderson,” Slot said ahead of Saturday’s reunion.

“That tells you how important he was for Ajax and how important has been for Liverpool, and how he now is for Brentford.”

Academy graduate Phillips is one of the symbols of how Liverpool rallied to a third-place finish that year. After six loans away, he’s now found a permanent home with Championship outfit West Brom.

LB: Andrew Robertson

A stalwart of the Klopp era, Robertson remains at the club and helped usher in the new era under the German’s successor.

The experienced Scotland international appears to be slowing down. His place has come under threat from Milos Kerkez, although the summer signing’s early struggles could give Robertson a run of games once again.

DM: Georginio Wijnaldum

This was Wijnaldum’s last season at Anfield.

After seeing out his contract, he joined the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos on a free transfer to PSG.

The Dutchman struggled in Paris, however, and a serious injury suffered while on loan at Roma has curtailed the latter half of his career.

In 2023, he linked up with Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard at El-Ettifaq and remains at the Saudi Pro League club today.

CM: Thiago Alcantara (Divock Origi, ’87)

Unlike this summer, in which Liverpool have bolstered their squad with multiple marquee additions, Thiago was the solitary big-name signing following the title victory of 2020.

This was a rare start for the classy Spanish midfielder in a maiden campaign ravaged by injuries. He recovered to play a big role in Liverpool’s resurgence in their quadruple chase the following year, but injuries eventually took their toll and he retired at the age of 33 last summer.

Thiago has now linked back up with Hansi Flick, under whom he won the treble at Bayern, and is now an assistant coach with his first club Barcelona.

Origi is collecting his wages at AC Milan but playing no first-team role. Safe to say he doesn’t enjoy the same cult hero status at San Siro as he does at Anfield.

CM: Curtis Jones (Xherdan Shaqiri, ’63)

Jones turned 20 a few weeks before and was making the most of Liverpool’s mounting injury crisis to step up and play more of a first-team role under Klopp.

Nearly five years on, Jones is yet to stake his claim as an undisputed starter but he remains a more than useful squad player with almost 200 appearances under his belt.

Shaqiri never quite moved out of the periphery and left for a short-lived spell at Lyon that summer. After a failed stint in MLS, Shaqiri returned to his boyhood club Basel last summer and absolutely tore up the Swiss Super League upon his return.

FWR: Mohamed Salah

Alongside Jones, the only other starter in this XI to suffer the same fate of suffering the ignominy of four successive league defeats a second time.

Liverpool’s Egyptian King hasn’t looked at his very best of late, but he offered a reminder of his quality with a sensationally struck consolation effort at Brentford.

With calls to stick him on the bench, it remains to be seen what role Salah plays for Liverpool this season. But it’s clear that their current issues go far beyond just his underperformance.

ST: Roberto Firmino

The dazzling-toothed Brazilian waved goodbye at the end of the 2022-23 campaign to take up a lucrative contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.

He remains in the Middle East today, having moved to Qatari champions Al Sadd in the summer.

FWL: Sadio Mane

Liverpool’s era-defining front three started this rare Merseyside derby defeat but drew a blank, suggesting their problems started at the root.

While questions lingered over Salah’s contract and future, there was little drama or sense of a saga when Mane sealed an exit to Bayern Munich in 2022.

He surprisingly struggled out in Bavaria and only lasted the one season before taking the Saudi cash at Al-Nassr.

Senegal recently sealed their spot at next summer’s World Cup, where it’ll be fun to see the 33-year-old offer us a reminder of his existence.