Liverpool look poised to overcome absences for quadruple

LONDON — One final booked, two more to go and perhaps another Premier League title is on the way. Liverpool are ready to go all the way this season after beating Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-final to confirm a clash against Chelsea at Wembley next month.

Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday, following a 2-1 first-leg victory at Anfield two weeks ago, ensured a repeat of the Carabao Cup final in 2022 – when Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp beat Chelsea in the penalty shootout. to win the competition for a record ninth time.

Although Fulham hit the post through an Andreas Pereira shot before Issa Diop's second-half equalizer, Luis Díaz's 11th-minute opener was enough to make the evening comfortable for Liverpool as they secured a victory cumulative of 3-2.

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But will the trip to Wembley mark a further rise in silverware this season? Or will this prove to be the start of a delay in matches that deprives Liverpool of the Premier League glory they desperately want?

“There are worse situations, believe me, but we play in four days against Norwich, then three days later we play Chelsea, then Arsenal in four more days,” Klopp said of the match congestion that victory created for Liverpool. “Imagine us and all the games we have to play. We have five games to play before the final, a few games to come, but we are really looking forward to Wembley.”

Two years ago, Liverpool's Carabao Cup success sparked a quest for a quadruple to win each of the four available trophies – the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League – but in the end, they failed. and only won the national cups.

Also reaching the Champions League final before losing to Real Madrid in Paris, Liverpool have played 63 first-team games in the 2021-22 season, the maximum they could play. Signs are that it will happen again this time around, even though Klopp's side are competing in the Europa League, for which they are heavy favourites, rather than the Champions League.

Yet as Liverpool continue to stay afloat in all four competitions, the burden of trying to win them all only grows heavier.

In 2000-01, the Liverpool team managed by Gérard Houllier also played 63 matches and completed a treble of domestic cups and the UEFA Cup – the precursor to the Europa League – but they finished a distant third in the league. .

But this time around, Liverpool are top of the league and aiming to fend off the growing challenge from Manchester City. The question for Klopp and his players is whether they can face a grueling schedule and win it all, first and foremost the league title.

Liverpool were agonizingly close to the quadruple two years ago, but three wins in their last six games in all competitions have highlighted the fatigue, which set in just when Klopp needed his players to perform at their best .

But maybe Liverpool are stronger now.

They are certainly younger, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané in their 30s all gone and replaced by players in their 20s like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo . Klopp can also count on emerging youngsters Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Conor Bradley to step up, while Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have further established themselves over the past two years.

Against Fulham, Liverpool won without Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo (both on international duty) and without the injured Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Meanwhile, full-back Andy Robertson was on the bench for the first time since dislocating a shoulder in October.

So, all of the above indicates that Liverpool have the depth to go all the way on all fronts. But eliminating Fulham while enjoying a one-goal lead from the first leg is one thing; winning consistently against stronger opponents in the coming weeks is a whole other challenge.

This is especially true with doubts over the severity of the hamstring injury Salah suffered during the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. The latest update on Salah is that he faces up to a month out, so it's not a huge blow to Liverpool's prospects; but if he is out for the whole month, it puts his participation in the Carabao Cup final on February 25 in doubt.

Liverpool have won four and drawn one of their five games since Salah left for the AFCON – they have only lost twice in 31 games without Salah since he joined the club in 2017 – hence his absence might not directly harm the team. But with so many games coming up, problems arise if other attackers are injured and the team's resources are depleted. This will be the fear of the Liverpool manager.

Klopp rarely focuses on the negative – aside from early kick-offs on Saturday – so he will likely be encouraged to see a team that wins without its star striker and remains strong in four competitions. They are in the Carabao Cup final and will face a lower league opponent – ​​EFL Championship side Norwich City – in the next round of the FA Cup. And no one in the Europa League comes close to rivaling Liverpool as favorites to win it.

Above all, Liverpool remain five points ahead of Man City, having played one more match, at the top of the Premier League, Pep Guardiola's team having not yet visited Anfield this season.

Klopp will believe his team can win all four competitions for the first time in Liverpool's history, and he is right to do so, regardless of the obstacles in Liverpool's path.