After decades of waiting a second Premier League title is on the cards for Arne Slot's Liverpool side, five years on from Jurgen Klopp's squad lifting the trophy
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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (centre) and his team-mates celebrate with the Premier League trophy after the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 22, 2020
It's set to be two title triumphs in five years for Liverpool
(Image: PA)
Arne Slot is in pole position to match Jurgen Klopp's one Premier League title in his maiden campaign as Liverpool boss. With just nine games to go, the Reds boast at 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal.
And there are no longer any other distractions for the business end of the season, with full focus on getting over the line after the international break. Slot has worked wonders with the squad he inherited from Klopp, and a lot of them are on course for their second winners' medal.
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Caoimhin Kelleher is now back-up to Alisson, rather than being behind Adrian - who departed Merseyside last summer to join Real Betis. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah are all also in line for title No. 2.
Since the first, they've all claimed two League Cups, an FA Cup and a Community Shield. But there has, of course, been plenty of ins and outs in the near-five years since the Premier League trophy was last adorned in red ribbon.
A few others are still playing in the English top flight. Adam Lallana returned to basement side Southampton last summer, leaving behind former Reds team-mate James Milner at Brighton.
Neco Williams has been a key part of Nuno Espirito Santo's high-flying Nottingham Forest team, while Ki-Jana Hoever is on the books of Wolves but is currently on loan at Ligue 1's AJ Auxerre. Nat Phillips, of Derby County, and Rhian Brewster, of Sheffield United, have dropped down into the Football League.
So has Andy Lonergan, who's still going strong at 41 in a player-coach role at Wigan Athletic. Another in the twilight years of his career is 35-year-old Dejan Lovren, who is currently out injured for Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki.
Adam Lallana, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool celebrate with The Premier League trophy
Many of the title winners went on to reunite, including Lallana and Milner at Brighton
Several of Klopp's triumphant squad have cashed in on the Saudi Pro League riches. Al-Ittihad's Fabinho, Al-Ahli's Roberto Firmino and Al-Ettifaq's Georginio Wijnaldum will still be seeing plenty of each other in the Middle East.
Wijnaldum was team-mates for a second time with Jordan Henderson before he cut his Saudi stay short to join Ajax last year, with the 34-year-old earning a shock recall to Thomas Tuchel's first England squad.
Also on a mega-money Pro League contract is Sadio Mane, who joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr after a nightmare year at Bayern Munich, which included reports he'd punched team-mate Leroy Sane. "Leaving FC Bayern hurts me. I would have wished for a different ending," he told Sky Sports.
Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich
Mane was hurt to leave Bayern Munich after just one season
Another who it didn't work out for in Germany is Naby Keita. He joined Werder Bremen in 2023 in a free transfer described as a "no-brainer" by the club's sporting director Frank Baumann, who certainly came to rue his words.
The injury issues that blighted his Reds career continued and he played just 107 minutes of football last season. What's more, he was said to arrive late to several meetings and declined to appear at numerous events for sponsors.
Bremen lost patience when he refused to board the team bus ahead of their clash against Bayer Leverkusen after being told he wasn't starting the match. They suspended and fined him before he was loaned out to Hungarian side Ferencvaros in January, since making four appearances for the club.
Naby Keita of SV Werder Bremen looks dejected during the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and 1. FC Köln at Wohninvest Weserstadion on September 23, 2023
Keita fell out with Werder Bremen chiefs due to his attitude, it was claimed
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, is back in the Besiktas starting XI having continued to have been blighted by his own injury woes in Turkey. Xherdan Shaqiri made a fairytale return to Basel last year after a brief spell with Lyon and three years in the United States with the Chicago Fire.
And Takumi Minamino is similarly a regular for Monaco. The same can't be said for Divock Origi at AC Milan, where he's been in exile this season.
The Belgian striker hasn't been seen by his club in months and with his contract running until 2026, no resolution appears to be in sight. There was a happy ending for Joel Matip, though, who retired in October after leaving Liverpool alongside Klopp.