Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has vindicated the effect Jurgen Klopp’s winning habit has had on the team and has drawn comparisons to the mentality of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Jurgen Klopp manager and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Liverpool of Liverpool during a training session at Melwood Training Ground on January 07, 2020 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The runaway Premier League leaders are currently on course to secure a first league title in 30 years following their record start to a league campaign. The FIFA Coach of the Year’s team recently became the first team in Europe’s top-five leagues to record 64 points from their opening 22 league games.
The European champions are also currently on course to become the first team to record an unbeaten league campaign in each of the top two divisions – they did so in the second tier in 1893-94.
They can also be the first to win every home game of a campaign in the top two tiers, having again achieved the feat in that 1893-94 title-winning season.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 19: Jurgen Klopp the head coach / manager of Liverpool celebrates at full time during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United at Anfield on January 19, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
After a 97-point haul saw them miss out on the title to Manchester City by a solitary point in 2018-19, the Reds have gone on to claim 64 points from a possible 66 in the top flight this campaign.
Liverpool have won 21 and drawn just one of their first 22 Premier League games, the best start in top-flight history in England. They are currently embarking on a 39 league match unbeaten since losing to Manchester City on January 3 last year.
Since March 10, the Reds have registered 91 points from a possible 93. Also following their previous stalemate with Leicester City 12 months ago, they have won 19 consecutive home games in the Premier League, one short of Pep Guardiola’s record. They have not lost in the league at Anfield since April 2017 – that’s 1004 days ago!
Following such a relentless run of form, Oxlade-Chamberlain, 26, spoke out about the winning mentality Klopp has installed into his record-breaking squad.
The England international told Liverpoolfc.com: “The way you can explain something like that is if you look at Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, the bar they have set for years and years and years, they might go one season or calendar year scoring 70 goals [and] if they hit 45 the next year they are probably not satisfied and the people around are probably not satisfied any more.
“Once you have proven to yourself and externally what you can achieve and the levels you can hit, that’s when the difference is.
“When you consistently hit them year after year, or as close to, is when you will be satisfied with yourself and others will be satisfied.
“We’re definitely hungry but we’re nowhere near finished and we’re not at the target we need to get to. We’ve got to stay hungry and keep pushing, then hopefully we get the results that we’re after.”
Liverpool’s German manager Jurgen Klopp reacts at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, north west England on January 19, 2020. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
What RTK has to say
Ox is spot on.
Liverpool have harnessed a resilience that has gone unrivalled where the rest of Europe is concerned. Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ are redefining history with their frankly ridiculous run of form.
The Reds have dropped just two points in 325 days and are on course to make it three consecutive Champions League finals.
With the Premier League, all-but wrapped up as early as January, it remains to be seen whether anyone is capable of stopping the champions-elect on the European stage as well as domestically.