It can’t be that hard to break the top four, can it? Mascherano follows suit and heads back to Barcelona, while Liverpool honour Skrtel and Lucas with testimonials. Klopp is fuming and, deciding the grass isn’t always greener, leaves Liverpool to rejoin Dortmund, with former Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde taking his place. Keita nets 11 in his first season.Ĭoutinho is, at least, assist king, helping his team-mates to 17 goals in the Premier League. On a more optimistic note, Jordan Henderson finally breaks the 10-goal target, scoring 13 in all competitions as Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer. With Dortmund making their interest in Firmino public, however, the Brazilian decides he’s had enough, and joins Klopp’s former side for £37.5 million, which Liverpool promptly spend on Spurs’ Heung-Min Son, who scores on his debut.Īll the gold in Germany can’t keep Liverpool from finishing sixth again, however, and this time they’re considerably worse off: 15 points behind fifth-placed Spurs.Īnother Europa League semi-final beckons, but Klopp’s former employers, City, crush the Reds 5-2 over two legs. Selling Balotelli to Monaco as soon as the transfer window opens, Klopp looks to make amends. Arsenal are crowned champions, knocking Mourinho off his perch. Coutinho is the star, while Roberto Firmino is top goalscorer, with 15 in all competitions. Klopp can’t salvage a lost season, however, and Liverpool finish in seventh, with a goal difference of +4. Still struggling to make his mark, and crashing out of the FA Cup in the sixth round, Mancini is given his marching orders in…March, to be replaced by none other than Klopp, who returns with his tail between his legs after a harrowing eight months at the Etihad. A City-bound Ibe leaves, as does Christian Benteke, Jose Enrique and poor Jon Flanagan. Heading into the January transfer window, Dejan Lovren wants out and Lucas Leiva is attracting interest from Leicester, and with Klopp finally given the opportunity to alter his squad, he gets down to business-though supporters are no doubt baffled by the lack of big-name signings.ĭynamo Kyiv left-back Vitorino Antunes is brought in for a whopping £11.25 million, while Coutinho is given more company with the addition of Brazilian attacking midfielder Dudu, who joins from Palmeiras for £5.25 million.īut with his side stuck in ninth heading into the January transfer window, Mancini decides that enough is enough and he goes big, making a bid for a want-away Gareth Bale who, unsurprisingly, turns him down in favour of a move to United, who had just stuffed the Reds 4-0.Īrda Turan comes in on loan, and Wojciech Szczesny joins to provide some form of competition for Simon Mignolet. A 3-1 win away to Everton stands as the best result of his first six months. 10.īy the beginning of January, Klopp realises this is perhaps a bigger challenge than he first expected, with Liverpool nestled modestly in sixth place in the league-with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea dominant at the top of the table. Klopp immediately sets to implement his demanding tactical outlook, setting his new side up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Philippe Coutinho taking the focal role as No. Erasing the miserable reality of Liverpool’s 2015/16 campaign, Football Manager 2016 begins the season with Klopp at the helm-though without a transfer budget to spend reinforcing his squad, the German is left to work with the players Brendan Rodgers bequeathed to him.
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