Liverpool will have to play 22 games in 87 days to become first English team EVER to win all four major trophies in one season
Liverpool will have to play 22 games in 87 days to become first English team EVER to win all four major trophies in one season
They couldn’t… could they? After clinching Carabao Cup, Liverpool are on target for a historic QUADRUPLE – but will have to cram 22 games into just 87 days to become the first English team EVER to win all four major trophies in one season
- Liverpool won the Carabao Cup on Sunday with a shootout victory at Wembley
- It means Jurgen Klopp’s side are still on track to win all four trophies this season
- They are six points behind Man City in the Premier League with a game in hand
- Reds host Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round and are still in Champions League
- A very congested fixture list beckons should Liverpool keep firing on all fronts
One down, three to go. That was the mantra echoing around the Liverpool dressing-room and amongst their fanbase after their dramatic Carabao Cup triumph against Chelsea at Wembley.
Still fighting on three more fronts as we enter March, Jurgen Klopp‘s side are now eyeing the unthinkable after the penalty shootout victory: a historic quadruple, something no English team has ever managed.
Manchester United came close in 1999, with a unprecedented Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, but were knocked out of the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Neighbours City have also had moments in recent years when all four trophies seemed attainable, and they sealed their own historic domestic treble in 2019.
Liverpool won the Carabao Cup on Sunday and are still fighting on three fronts this season
Jurgen Klopp’s side could be on course for something special and a historic quadruple
Yet there’s a reason why the quadruple has never been done before. More competitions means more games, less days off and a squad stretched to the limit.
Klopp, though, insists the journey could be something special: ‘This is the start. We are not silly. You need luck. We have to survive, work hard and, we have to play on Wednesday again, which I cannot believe at this moment.
‘Anfield will be rocking because of this result and hopefully we can deliver a game to enjoy.’
As Klopp admits, there is no time for over-the-top celebrations. Liverpool host Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday with a team likely to be a second string after many stars played 120 minutes of action on Sunday.
So, quadruple talk could stop there and then should the Canaries pull off a shock at Anfield.
It could also be dismissed next week, when Liverpool host Inter Milan with a two-goal lead in their Champions League last-16 tie.
The removal of the away goals rule means Liverpool’s lead is perhaps more precarious than it would have been in years gone by, yet they’re still rather clearly in the driving seat in the tie.
Yet there is no room for error. In any competition.
In the Premier League, the title race seemed dead and buried two months ago.
Manchester City had a 12-point lead at one stage, with Liverpool and Chelsea flailing around the festive period – and both teams badly affected by key players going to the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Reds are back in action quickly as they host Norwich in the FA Cup on Wednesday evening
Yet, much to the credit of Klopp’s squad, they rediscovered some form just at the right time, winning their last six Premier League matches since drawing with Chelsea on January 2.
And with Manchester City showing unusual signs of vulnerability against Southampton and Tottenham, suddenly the race is back on.
The Reds cut the gap to three points last week before City inched past Everton on Saturday to extend their lead to six again – but Liverpool have a game in hand.
That spare match comes in two weeks’ time, in what could be a decisive four days.
Liverpool have put together a run in the Premier League, winning their last six matches
After playing West Ham at home and Brighton on the road, Klopp’s team take on Arsenal on March 16, before hosting rivals Manchester United on March 20. And in reality, nothing less than 12 points will do.
In the same period, City also host United next week, before games against sometime bogey team Crystal Palace and Brighton.
Should neither team slip-up – and win their first games back post-international break – it sets up a tantalising contest at the Etihad on April 10.
The April 10 showdown with Manchester City is likely to be pivotal in this season’s title race
There could be three points in it. And with a superior goal-difference currently – +50 to +47 – a win could put Liverpool top of the table with six matches left.
From then on in, the Merseyside Derby on April 23, a home clash against Tottenham two weeks later and a trip to Newcastle in between represent the Reds’ toughest fixtures.
They also travel to face Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on April 16, Southampton in their penultimate game and they host Wolves on the final day of the season, May 23.
A month ago, it looked like a pipeline dream. Now, it seems a realistic possibility.
To the cups now. First, an FA Cup still filled with top teams.
Should Liverpool progress past Norwich on Wednesday, they will secure a place in the quarter-finals. Potential opponents include City, Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham and Everton.
The knock-on effect of the FA Cup could play a crucial role in the season’s wider picture though.
A quarter-final spot would mean that United fixture in the league would have to be rearranged, a semi-final place would do the same with the Villa fixture and another final trip to Wembley would mean the penultimate game at Southampton would also be shifted to a spare midweek.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have a two-goal lead in their Champions League last-16 tie against Inter
And the Reds’ availability in midweek, subsequently, depends on their progression in the Champions League.
A likely quarter-final spot awaits after their excellent result in Milan. But from then on in, European heavyweights await at every corner.
Likely last-eight opponents include City, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Chelsea. Then, also the winners of Real Madrid and PSG, Ajax and Benfica and United and Atletico Madrid.
Four midweeks in April and May would be taken up should Liverpool progress to the final of the Champions League, in and around their league and cup competitions.
A tall order indeed. However, Liverpool’s record in the Champions League is excellent. Finalists in 2018, winners in 2019. Yet the difference here is that they weren’t fighting on all four fronts, though they were neck-and-neck with City in the title race in 2018-19.
The League Cup triumph at Wembley could set the Reds on the road to something very special
The bookies still have Klopp’s men at 105/1 to win the three remaining trophies this season and thus win the quadruple. It’s a long shot, of that there is no doubt. Manchester City, meanwhile, are 13/1.
But winning breeds winning. Trent Alexander-Arnold for one insists he is ‘hungry for more’. Jurgen Klopp’s legacy at Anfield could be defined by the next 87 days, in which 22 matches may have to be played – a game on average every four days.
Match-by-match focus will be the spiel. In reality though, everyone in red will be casting their eye further afield. These chances don’t come around often.
