For a club that came within two games of an unprecedented quadruple just a short time ago, Liverpool’s collapse during the 2022–23 season still feels so startling. What should have been a push to add more silverware turned into a campaign of soul-searching and frustration, widely seen as the Reds’ worst under Jürgen Klopp. The statistics tell a blunt story: a fifth-place finish, missing the Champions League for the first time in seven years, and embarrassing early cup exits. That’s not small regression. It’s a shock to the system.
Where it went wrong
There wasn’t a single cause. It was a perfect storm of tactics, fitness and personnel gaps. Losing Sadio Mané removed a key piece of Liverpool’s high-intensity front line. The attack lost a pressing engine and a regular source of goals overnight. Then the midfield—Klopp’s so-called engine room—started to creak. Fabinho and Jordan Henderson looked tired; pundits and fans noticed their legs had gone. Injuries piled up, depth looked thin, and the press that once defined Liverpool became increasingly hard to execute.
Defence, too, betrayed the team. Virgil van Dijk and others showed a dip in form. Simple individual errors and susceptibility to counter-attacks replaced the ruthlessness that had been their trademark. Add modest net spending compared to rivals and questions about whether the squad was refreshed in time, and you begin to understand why performances nosedived so quickly.
Bigger questions than form
When a dynasty stumbles like that, people start asking bigger things. Who built the machine that won everything? Was it all down to the manager’s tactics and charisma, or was it more of a collective achievement—smart recruitment, analytics, and a sporting structure that fed the squad with the right pieces at the right time? The internal departures of figures like a former sporting director only made those questions louder, with pundits debating if Klopp is the one who actually deserves the credit for the club’s past success.
It’s an uncomfortable discussion, sure. But it’s an honest one. Great teams are rarely single-person projects. They’re ecosystems: coaches, scouts, analysts, players, and the culture stitched together over years.
The clean-up and rebuild
The response was decisive. Long-serving names—Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keïta, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho—moved on. That felt inevitable. When a club decides to reset, the house-clearing can be painful, but sometimes necessary. Liverpool then invested in midfield youth and energy, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Those signings signalled a clear intent: rebuild the engine room, restore the press, and bring back the spark.
Have they fully found it again? Not quite. The process of blending the “Kloppian” identity with a new core is slow. Integrating new personalities and adjusting tactics takes time; top-level football is unforgiving. But the arrivals showed a willingness to adapt rather than cling to an old template.
What to watch next
Will Klopp and the new group reclaim the suffocating pressing style that once made Liverpool so dangerous? Can the midfield regain stamina and cohesion? Are the defensive blips behind them? Those are the practical signs to monitor. But there’s also a softer test: does the club’s rhythm feel instinctual again, or will it be a patchwork of fleeting good performances and recurring lapses?
Football fans love quick judgements. Yet this slump reminds us that even elite machines need careful maintenance. Complacency, aging cores, and small transfer-market hesitations can quickly combine into a crisis.
Final thought and call to action
The 2022–23 season remains a sharp lesson in how fragile success can be. Liverpool’s recovery is underway, but it’s a process—not a switch. If you’ve got thoughts on who should carry the credit for Liverpool’s highs and lows, or how the rebuild is going, leave a comment below and join the debate. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for to keep up with the latest analysis and fan reactions.
Before you go, discover how Liverpool’s TacticAI is redefining corner kick strategy.
Sources:
- www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_Liverpool_F.C._season
- www.lfcbetting.co.uk/liverpool-results-2022-23/
- www.totalfootballanalysis.com/article/liverpool-in-the-premier-league-2022-23-data-analysis-statistics
- www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/mar/04/the-aura-has-gone-but-can-jurgen-klopp-summon-another-great-age-at-liverpool
