Klopp at Liverpool, Season 1: ‘Doubters to believers’, two cup finals and broken glasses

It was a result which showed Liverpool at their best and their worst, and that Jekyll and Hyde nature continued into February. The German was raging when, after a mass 77th-minute walkout at Anfield in protest at a planned ticket price increase, the Reds turned a 2-0 lead at that juncture into a 2-2 draw against Sunderland. A week later, LFC regrouped and thumped an admittely dreadful Aston Villa 6-0 in their own backyard.

Klopp had the chance to win his first trophy for the club after just four months as his side took on Man City in the EFL Cup final, only to lose on penalties at Wembley, although revenge was exacted in the league just three days later.

After a few dismal years in Europe, Liverpool were also beginning to revive their fortunes on the continent as Manchester United were seen off in the Europa League, but that scalp was eclipsed by what happened in the subsequent round.

A 1-1 draw away to Klopp’s alma mater Dortmund in the quarter-final first leg was respectable, but when the Reds conceded twice in the first 10 minutes at Anfield, they were at risk of humiliation. At 3-1 down on 57 minutes, it seemed that the full-time whistle couldn’t come soon enough.

However, once Mamadou Sakho levelled in the 78th minute to make it 3-3, the home fans had genuine hope, and that turned into an explosion of euphoria in stoppage time when the Frenchman’s centre-back partner Dejan Lovren headed the winning goal. It was the best European night on Merseyside for many a year.

Domestic results remained inconsistent, and an eighth-place finish didn’t represent much of an improvement on the position that Liverpool occupied when Klopp took over seven months previously, but the final month of the season was all about the Europa League charge.

Villarreal were overcome in the last four to set up a final against Sevilla, who were seeking to win the trophy for a third successive year. St Jakob Park in Basel was the bafflingly small-scale choice for the decider, which seemed to be going LFC’s way when Daniel Sturridge broke the deadlock on 35 minutes.

A promising first half preceded a dismal second, with Unai Emery’s side level within a minute of the restart and going on to win comfortably by 3-1. Liverpool fans and players were naturally dejected, with the team having not given anywhere near the best possible account of themselves when just one game from silverware.

In a sign that he was anything but the self-proclaimed ‘Normal One’, Klopp instructed his squad in the hotel afterwards to convene for what turned into a party, with the manager jubilantly leading the celebrations. Self-pity gave way to an appreciation that the first few steps on a potentially momentous journey had been taken.

Despite the German’s first season at Anfield being dogged with inconsistency, progress to two cup finals added weight to his promise of turning doubters into believers. That process had been set in motion by the end of his debut campaign at the club.