On Sunday, Jurgen Klopp will take charge of his 334th and final Premier League game.
Many love him, lots respect him. Some, mutter it quietly, actually don’t like him all that much.
He’s a bit of a sore loser, as many top-flight coaches are. A prowling, gnashing touchline presence, he’s invaded the personal space of many a fourth official in his time. When his team have been wronged in some way, the sass often spills over into his post-match interviews and press conferences.
But he’s also undeniably charismatic in a sport seriously lacking personality. His pressers, while housing the odd moan, are always interesting to listen to. Many of the division’s other head coaches are emphatically not.
We Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers will miss his team news as much as anything. While not quite a full-blown Bielsa, he’s generally open and honest with Liverpool’s injuries. Contrast that with Mikel “we will see” Arteta, Erik “Bruno was on the pitch” ten Hag and countless others.
Then there’s the heavy metal football itself. The German has overseen 208 wins, 712 goals scored and one title success. Liverpool have frequently been exhilarating to watch during his tenure.
He’s also presided over some memorable FPL moments – and it’s those we’re looking back on in this article.
Here are 10 Gameweeks from Klopp’s nine-year reign that really stood out, with some honorary mentions at the bottom.
Let us know in the comments section if we’ve overlooked some other obvious matches.
2017/18
GAMEWEEK 1
WATFORD 3-3 LIVERPOOL
Klopp’s time at Liverpool is synonymous with one player above all, at least in FPL terms.
Mohamed Salah has dominated the Fantasy landscape for seven seasons, racking up over 1,700 points in the process.
It all began in Gameweek 1 of 2017/18, at Klopp’s favourite kick-off time (lolz): 12.30pm on a Saturday.
While not exactly arriving at Anfield to low expectations, there wasn’t much an inkling that he’d go on to be a record breaker. James H’s excellent Scout Report from way back when understandably talked of him rivalling Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, rather than becoming the essential pick he soon was.
He did make the Scout Picks for his Reds debut, at least, in a sage selection from Mark and co!
Salah started as he meant to go on, winning a penalty that Firmino converted before the Brazilian turned provider for his new teammate’s first competitive Liverpool goal.
It was the first of 15 double-digit hauls for the Egyptian, on his way to a landmark 303 points.
Mane was also on target for the Reds at Vicarage Road but points were dropped as the eminently forgettable Miguel Britos nabbed a late leveller. Another debutant, a certain fresh-faced 20-year-old called Richarlison, claimed the assist.
It was a goal that should have been chalked off for a Klopp-irking offside. No VAR back then…
2017/18
BLANK GAMEWEEK 31
LIVERPOOL 5-0 WATFORD
A rematch with the Hornets later in the season saw Salah chalk up another record – one that still stands today.
Many of us are coming off the back of a ton in Double Gameweek 37 but there were, amazingly, centuries aplenty back in the four-match Blank Gameweek 31 of 2017/18.
It was mostly thanks to Salah.
Going into the clash with Watford off the back of a blank at Old Trafford, some dared to take him on with a Firmino captaincy. They soon regretted it.
Two first-half goals and an assist were added to by a late second-half brace. Salah scored with all four of his shots.
Maximum bonus took him to 29 points, the highest-ever score for a ‘single’ Gameweek player.
2019/20
GAMEWEEK 19
LEICESTER CITY 0-4 LIVERPOOL
This was Liverpool’s title-winning year but the Boxing Day clash with Leicester City was meant to be a stiff test, so much so that a decent chunk of Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s owners benched him.
The Foxes were the nearest challengers to Klopp’s runaway leaders, sitting in second after a run of just one defeat in 10 games.
The Reds had only just edged past Brendan Rodgers’ side in the reverse fixture in September, too.
Ninety minutes later, Leicester were on the end of a 4-0 hiding and Trent benchers/non-owners were 24 points worse off.
Alexander-Arnold was already on for a mega haul after assisting the visitors’ first three strikes. Rodgers’ troops were no threat to the clean sheet, either, mustering just 0.12 xG.
But the icing was put on the cake in the 78th minute, with the right-back arriving Carlos Alberto-like to lash in Liverpool’s fourth.
Alexander-Arnold would go on to net 210 points for the season, falling just three short of Andrew Robertson‘s all-time high for a defender. The tally of 19 attacking returns he registered is a record for a defensive asset, however.
2019/20
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 24
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1-2 LIVERPOOL
WEST HAM UNITED 0-2 LIVERPOOL
Taking on Salah with the captaincy, let alone the Triple Captain chip, was for years the endeavour of the maverick.
But going into Double Gameweek 24 of 2019/20, there was a genuine debate to be had.
Mane was actually more widely backed with the armband in Gameweek 24, having led Salah for attacking returns 19-16 going into that round.
Just over 30 minutes into the first Double Gameweek 24 fixture at Wolves, disaster struck.
A hamstring injury not only ended Mane’s evening but also put him out of action for the second Gameweek 24 match.
Salah waited until the West Ham game to inflict the damage, netting a penalty and claiming an assist.
Triple Captainers of the Egyptians were rewarded with 48 points; those backing Mane ended on three.
2019/20
GAMEWEEK 28
WATFORD 3-0 LIVERPOOL
Liverpool had won 26 of their first 27 fixtures in the triumphant 2019/20 campaign.
With the Covid pandemic and a season suspension closing in, the Reds took their unbeaten record to Vicarage Road.
Watford were 19th going into this late February meeting. They didn’t win any of the five fixtures before the Liverpool game, nor any of the five that followed.
What played out was one of those spectacles you watch with your mouth agape, much like Germany’s hammering of Brazil in 2014.
Liverpool didn’t lay a glove on their hosts, managing just three shots in the box all game.
There was chaos at the back, too, with Ismaila Sarr running riot. The winger scored two and assisted another as the Hornets deservedly ran out winners.
Most of us were tripled up on Liverpool so while there were some low, low Gameweek 28 scores out there, many were in the same boat.
The Reds weren’t to lose another league match until after the title was sealed. Watford later decided to sack Nigel Pearson, with two games to spare and with the club above the relegation zone.
They went down.
2020/21
GAMEWEEK 4
ASTON VILLA 7-2 LIVERPOOL
Like the Watford game, this match fell into the ‘I can’t believe what I’m watching’ category.
It was also the fixture that launched Ollie Watkins onto the scene.
A summer signing from Brentford, Watkins would actually fail to score in 13 of his first 16 runouts for Aston Villa.
But in this, his third game for the Villans, he had the match ball in the bag by the half-time whistle.
Watkins wasn’t even the highest FPL points scorer in this match. That honour fell to Jack Grealish, who walked away with a 24-point haul after netting two goals and assisting three others.
Virgil van Dijk ended up with a score of minus two but Salah salvaged a double-digit return from the wreckage, bagging both of Liverpool’s consolation strikes.
This was the (mostly) behind-closed-doors season, when home advantage all but evaporated.
Klopp’s reigning champions went three months unbeaten after the Villa debacle but the wheels fell off in the New Year, with eight league defeats in 12.
2020/21
GAMEWEEK 14
CRYSTAL PALACE 0-7 LIVERPOOL
Some may think of team leaks as being quite a new phenomenon but they were around four years ago and a long time before that, too.
Sometimes, those privy to them gain an advantage. The managers moving from the benched Kyle Walker to Josko Gvardiol last Saturday, for instance, are up on the deal.
Other times, you’re left wishing you’d overslept and missed the deadline. This was one such game for some Fantasy managers.
Liverpool were at Selhurst Park in the early kick-off in Gameweek 14 of the 2020/21 campaign. Word got out that Salah was to be a substitute, with some FPL bosses benching or selling him off the back of the pre-deadline rumours.
When the teamsheets came out, the leaked line-up was revealed to be genuine.
Salah did come on and make a difference.
A 57th-minute replacement for Mane with Liverpool already 4-0 up, he scored twice and assisted another.
A 16-point haul turned out to be his second biggest of that season, more even than he’d get in three Double Gameweeks.
The real winners were those who kept and started Salah but switched the armband to Bruno Fernandes. The Man Utd midfielder would go one better the following day with a whopping 17-point return.
2021/22
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26
LIVERPOOL 3-1 NORWICH CITY
LIVERPOOL 6-0 LEEDS UNITED
This was one of the highest-scoring Gameweeks of recent years.
A total of 34 players racked up double-digit hauls in this ‘double’ for eight teams. Top of the pile was Salah, who scored 28 points across two plum home fixtures.
Mane wasn’t far behind him on 26, while four of Liverpool’s backline (including Alisson!) combined a clean sheet with at least one attacking return.
Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Wilfried Zaha, Bukayo Saka and, er, Wout Weghorst were among some of the other popular doublers who all scored over 10 points in this Gameweek.
With plenty of managers backing Salah as a Triple Captain, scores in excess of 150 could easily be found.
2022/23
GAMEWEEK 4
LIVERPOOL 9-0 BOURNEMOUTH
From the game that brought you ‘Kai Havertz blanking in Chelsea’s 7-0 win over Norwich City’ came a Merseyside-set sequel.
Liverpool went nuts in an early-season encounter with newly promoted Bournemouth, a win that led to Cherries boss Scott Parker losing his job.
Firmino contributed to five of the goals en route to a career-best 23-point haul, while Alexander-Arnold didn’t better his 17 points from this match in the rest of 2022/23.
In all, 10 different Reds delivered at least one return for their owners.
Not one of them was Salah.
He racked up the highest xG of any player in this match, missing these two huge close-range chances:
Even worse was to follow in the rematch later in the season, with Salah missing a penalty and finishing on zero points at the Vitality Stadium.
2022/23
GAMEWEEK 26
LIVERPOOL 7-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United came into this clash having kept clean sheets in eight of their last 17 league games, conceding just 0.82 goals per match in that time.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had scored on just seven occasions in their previous eight matches.
Salah’s ownership had dropped down to 25% in the top 10k, with many FPL managers on a Wildcard choosing to sell him ahead of Gameweek 26.
Why? Liverpool had a blank ahead in Gameweek 28, while there were further doubles to plan for involving other teams.
We all know what happened next: an absolute spanking of the old enemy, with Salah racking up 21 points.
Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo both bagged braces, too.
‘Content creators’ no doubt had their notifications on mute for the next week, having heavily championed a Liverpool-less Wildcard in the days leading up to this bloodbath…
HONORARY MENTIONS
- Gameweek 9 of 2015/16: Klopp’s first game in charge, a goalless draw at Tottenham Hotspur.
- Gameweek 1 of 2016/17: A 4-3 win over Arsenal. Coutinho started his best-ever season in FPL with a 15-point haul.
- Gameweek 16 of 2018/19: Salah’s treble at Bournemouth.
- Gameweek 36 of 2018/19: The 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town, with Triple Captains aplenty going on Salah’s single Gameweek score of 19.
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