Having not won a domestic cup for the last ten years, can Liverpool finally clinch one this season?
It’s been almost a decade since Liverpool last won the Domestic Cup of England. However, this year things look a little different. The Red’s approach to the EFL Cup and the FA cup has given the fans some hope of glory in the domestic competitions.
In the past few seasons, the importance of the Domestic cups has gone down. Big clubs, like Liverpool, tend to focus on the more “glamourous” competitions like the Premier League and the Champions League.
The lack of money involved in these tournaments is a big reason for this neglect. Now all clubs care about is making profits, hence reducing the importance of domestic competitions that don’t bring in the big bucks.
Liverpool targeting domestic cup glory this season ?
However, this approach has helped Liverpool a lot. They don’t have the richness of Manchester City or Chelsea and cannot solve their problems by throwing money around. That’s why it makes sense for Liverpool to use this approach.
Liverpool’s success is majorly built on gradually improvement in the squad, combined with smart upcycling. While other teams in the “big six” splash money around, Liverpool looks to utilise it in the most effective way possible.
While since 2012, Liverpool have only played in one Domestic cup final (2016), things look diffrent this time around.
For example, let’s consider the game against Shrewsbury Town. The line-up was a mixed bag. On one side you had first team starters like Virgil Van Dijk and Fabinho, while on the other side you had youngsters like Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton. Could we see a return of this with first-team players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Nat Philips missing?
While on paper, this team is not very diffrent from the Liverpool team that usually played domestic cup fixtures, but this time it is quite diffrent on the field. It is not just a combination of youth academy players and failed transfers.
In Klopp’s era, it is not only the individual that counts but also how the team functions together. The youngsters have trained with the first team and many of them are frequenters of the premier league bench.
And that’s why this Liverpool team is looking diffrent in the Domestic competition.
When Arsenal visits Anfield on Thursday, the club will look towards not only getting a one up on arch-rivals but will also be looking towards Wembley and potential silverware.
