Players posed for photos with their families after Liverpool's last home game of the 2015-16 season - and even Jurgen Klopp took some pictures
Players posed for photos with their families after Liverpool's last home game of the 2015-16 season - and even Jurgen Klopp took some pictures
As prepare to take on at on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off), a dour mood surrounds both sets of supporters after disappointing seasons in the .
Almost exactly 10 years ago, they were in worst positions, as the eighth-placed Reds faced the ninth-placed Stamford Bridge side. However, a very different mood was to be found among home supporters, whose .
Then, as now, neither team had set the Premier League alight as romped to victory in the most unlikely of title wins.
For Chelsea's part, they set a new record for the worst-ever Premier League title defence, slumping to a 10th-place finish and a whopping 37 points off their tally the previous season - though the Foxes would break that record just the following season.
equalised at the death for Liverpool after a brilliant goal gave the recently-deposed champions the lead in a much smaller Anfield - albeit one with the colossal skeleton of the new Main Stand looming above the pitch in the last game played before its opening in September of that year.
The 1-1 draw that maintained the 10-point gap between the two sides was new Reds boss 's 50th at the helm - he wouldn't end up losing much sleep over this result, as it turned out.
And we have looked back at the Liverpool squad from that day, how their Anfield careers played out and where they've ended up a decade on.
Mignolet may not be one of Liverpool's finest goalkeepers of the Premier League era, but the extent to which he was overshadowed by two outstanding keepers before and after his time has perhaps seen some of his stronger contributions forgotten. In the second half of this game, he produced smart stops against Hazard, Pedro and Bertrand Traore. In truth, he had no chance of stopping Hazard's brilliant first-half finish which arrowed into the bottom corner to the keeper's left. Mignolet finished top for Liverpool appearances across 2015-16 with 55, but had to settle for battling with Loris Karius for the following two seasons before the arrival of Alisson Becker relegated him to the role of permanent back-up. After being part of the Champions League-winning squad in 2019, Mignolet made a dream return to his native Belgium, winning four Belgian Pro League titles with Club Brugge and earning the league's footballer of the year award in 2022. Now 38 and still first choice after 310 appearances, Mignolet announced his impending retirement last month and will play his final game against Gent on May 24 as he looks to wrap up a long career with a fifth league title. (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images) 1 of 14
Clyne was a solid if unspectacular player in a problem position for Liverpool, who ultimately saw his Anfield career fade away as injuries cleared the path for Trent Alexander-Arnold to make the right-back slot his own. Despite reliable performances before the back injury that ruled him out for virtually the entire 2017-18 season, there was no dislodging Alexander-Arnold on his return and a loan to Bournemouth followed in January 2019 before an ACL injury cruelly ended his Liverpool career that summer. Clyne returned to the club where he made his breakthrough, Crystal Palace, in 2020, where he has served as a valuable squad option for nearly six years during the Eagles' most successful era. Having been at Bournemouth when the Reds lifted a sixth European Cup in 2019, Clyne - who is now 35 - will hope to play a part in following up Palace's FA Cup triumph with a Europa Conference League win this season. (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images) 2 of 14
Lovren's Liverpool career, though peppered with gaffes, ultimately became one of the hallmarks of Jurgen Klopp's managerial style. Resisting calls for the Croatian to be dropped throughout his first season in charge, Klopp instead put his faith in Lovren and was rewarded with improved performances en route to the Europa League final in 2016 - including his hair-raising winner against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final second leg. A wild effort early on in this game when the better option would have been to pass to Daniel Sturridge might have been a mark of the confidence the manager instilled in him. Injury and the performances of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez alongside Virgil van Dijk kept Lovren out of the team for the 2019 Champions League victory and much of the league-winning season of 2019-20, but he left with his head held high as the first Croatian to win the Premier League when he departed to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg. After winning three league titles with Zenit and helping Croatia to a third-place finish at the 2022 World Cup, Lovren rejoined Lyon in 2023, from whom he had signed for Southampton before his move to Liverpool. He now plays for Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki at the age of 36. (Image: Getty Images) 3 of 14