“Have you any more ambitions?” Liverpool’s title-winning manager was asked. “Yeah, win it next year,” came the matter-of-fact reply.
The manager was not Jurgen Klopp but Bob Paisley, and it came in a time when Liverpool becoming champions felt altogether more routine.
In contrast, there was the sense they touched heights when recording the long-awaited 19th title. But the danger is that those who climb mountains tumble down the other side.
Fireworks lit up Anfield in June. Paisley’s triumphs brought rather fewer pyrotechnics. The manager himself probably preferred for there to be less fuss. He excelled in winning, year after year.
Before, during and after his reign, Liverpool claimed 11 league titles in 18 years. Now the task is to sustain brilliance for a third consecutive campaign, but that does not mean it is lesser.
The context has changed. Liverpool have posted 97 and 99 points in successive seasons, but no one has ever topped 90 three years in a row. They may have to in order to retain their crown.
If Paisley’s Liverpool took the art of winning to new levels in one respect, Klopp’s side did in another. End-of-season defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal came after the title had been secured. Before then, they had lost two of 70 league matches.
They won the first 26 of 27 last season, giving them 106 points from a possible 108. It was all the more abnormal as Liverpool kept on winning tight games and, apart from at the Etihad Stadium in January 2019, went more than two years without losing one. Their consistency in close matches was remarkable.
Their task now is to do the same with the similar. It is both the same and more difficult, because of the context. Rivals have strengthened and Liverpool, apart from buying back-up left-back Kostas Tsimikas, have not. But for coronavirus, Liverpool would probably have got Timo Werner. Instead, they may face him next Sunday.
Liverpool could have been forgiven for feeling mentally and physically exhausted after their relentless efforts over two seasons. An overworked group need to repeat them for a third. Klopp turned entertainers into the most efficient side in England, with the aid of idiosyncratic tactics.
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Liverpool 2019/20 season ratings
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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson have proved the most productive, most creative full-back partnership in Premier League history. It is safe to assume opponents are scheming to reduce the impact of Liverpool’s flyers on either flank.
If Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s brilliance in the inside-left and inside-right channels renders each a guarantee of goals, the oddity was that Liverpool had a solitary strike from Roberto Firmino at Anfield in their 99-point campaign.
It offers one potential area for improvement. Maybe a midfield who assumed the role of selfless workers could chip in with more, especially if Naby Keita – the sole major signing of the Klopp era who has not justified his transfer fee – cements a place in the team, yet the ongoing uncertainty about Gini Wijnaldum's future is a cause for unease, especially as it is unrealistic to expect Jordan Henderson to hit such heights again.
There are other concerns. Dejan Lovren’s departure has robbed Liverpool of a fourth centre-back and, immaculate as Virgil van Dijk is and invincible as he seems, both Joe Gomez and Joel Matip can be injury-prone.
Elsewhere, Liverpool are looking to youngsters, in Neco Williams, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Rhian Brewster, to plug the gaps in their squad. Each is hugely talented, but largely untried.
The Liverpool way in Paisley’s glory years was to integrate youngsters from a position of strength. If they are doing so again, winning a title after a second summer of minimal spending would feel a very old-fashioned feat.
