“Liverpool owe Salah another Premier League medal” — Neville

Liverpool under the reign of Jurgen Klopp, have become a very different animal compared to the past Liverpool teams of previous generations. But that being considered, aside winning the club a first premier league title in 30 years, Jurgen Klopp’s team haven’t really shadowed past generations of the club’s teams.

It can be even debated that Rafa Benitez was closest to achieving that feat in his time as the club’s manager, and could have done so if the club’s then owners, Hicks and Gillet had kept that team together for 2 more seasons. After all, Rafa Benitez, while with a stringent budget, even more so than Klopp, won a Champions League title, the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup, the Community Shield, while also leading Liverpool as runners up in the League Cup, Club World Cup and the Champions League.

In essence, Benitez won half of what Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool won in less time than Klopp himself at Liverpool.

This isn’t hyping up Rafa Benitez’s achievements with the Reds or writing off Klopp’s team’s achievements either, but on paper, Klopp had high profile players to work with for an extended period of time than Benitez ever had the opportunity to.

And with less to show for it, much sooner than later will the narratives fall on why players like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson did not win more titles under Klopp’s Liverpool than their quality states on paper.

Of course, arguments can be made for how dominant Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been, but there is also the debate that did Klopp and his Liverpool team do more to achieve themselves the glory they should have siezed?

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has highlighted the significance of Liverpool maintaining their position in the Premier League title race despite the impending absence of Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian forward is slated to join his national team for the Africa Cup of Nations this month after contributing two goals in Liverpool’s 4-2 victory over Newcastle on Monday night, which notably expanded their lead at the top of the table by three points.

Neville emphasized the importance of Liverpool persevering in Salah’s absence, stating,

“You wonder what that’s going to be like without Salah, but they owe it to him to get through the next month still in the title, still at the top of the league and still ahead, so they can give Salah a chance to come back and have a real go at the title.”

Expressing his initial skepticism about Liverpool’s title aspirations, Neville added, “I didn’t think Liverpool would be in a title race and I still don’t think they’ll do it.”

The departure of Salah, a key figure in Liverpool’s attacking lineup, raises questions about the team’s ability to maintain their momentum.

However, Neville’s comments underscore the significance of Liverpool’s continued strong performance during Salah’s absence to sustain their position atop the league standings and provide Salah an opportunity to contribute upon his return.