Liverpool’s unbelievable fitness this season is the secret reason behind their ability to win games late on and could see them win the Champions League without breaking a sweat.
When Jurgen Klopp first took over at Liverpool, his high pressing style of play took England by surprise as teams couldn’t cope with the way the German had his players press opponents.
But without a pre-season to sustain the intensity for even half a season, the Reds were soundly beaten by Unai Emery’s Sevilla in the Europa League final.
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In that game, Liverpool seemed totally exhausted after 60 minutes and made some unforgivable errors both in and out of possession.
Fast forward three years and you wouldn’t believe the progress Klopp has made with his players on both a technical level as well as physically.
The likes of Jordan Henderson, Andrew Robertson and Roberto Firmino are the perfect players for Klopp’s system but the German now has an entire squad that is willing to grind out results.
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Dramatic wins against Fulham, Tottenham, Newcastle and Barcelona over the last couple of months are brilliant examples of how Liverpool’s fitness has been as important as their technical ability.
The Reds are able to outrun teams beyond the 80th minute and their tireless approach will continue to win them football games so long as they have the quality to back it up.
In 2016, when they lost the Europa League final, Liverpool lacked both fitness and the quality across the pitch to beat a very average Sevilla side and now the Reds have both.
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Beating Spurs in the final next month will cap off a brilliant three and a half year spell at the helm for Jurgen Klopp.
He deserves to win silverware with the Reds and while the same can be said of Mauricio Pochettino, it would be cruel for the Anfield boss to end this unbelievable season without winning anything.