Liverpool’s 2024 saw the end of one era and the beginning of another. With so much changing, we’ve rounded up the media’s thoughts on the year and looked back on how they reacted to some of the key moments.
When Jurgen Klopp announced he was to leave Liverpool, supporters reacted with shock and anxiety.
The Reds were in a title race and he was the figure spearheading a young team and the fans across four competitions.
The German didn’t get his triumphant send-off, but he did relay the foundations for Arne Slot to take over and elevate Liverpool to the next level.
Despite the impending contract expiries of three key players causing angst, Liverpool are in a much sturdier position to move forward into the future than they were 12 months ago.
Here, we look at how the media assessed Liverpool’s 2024…
Liverpool’s mentality is key
Richard Jolly of the Independent thinks Liverpool are flourishing thanks to the squad’s mentality:
“The danger is that Slot has a substantially weaker squad in his second season than his first, should talks break down and others take advantage of Liverpool’s failure to tie them down before the new manager’s arrival.
“Liverpool have spent much of 2024 in limbo. They nevertheless flourished in the first two months after Klopp announced he would go.
“They have prospered when it is unclear if Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold will follow.
“If it is testament to their mentality, it faces a further test as the time left on those three deals decreases and as suitors are allowed to approach them.”
Writing for the National, Gareth Cox chose to focus on Mo Salah when looking back at the year:
“For Liverpool attacker Mohammed Salah, 2024 ended just as it started – with the Egyptian superstar hitting the back of the net and setting up goals for teammates.
“On New Year’s Day, Salah scored two and set up another as Liverpool defeated Newcastle United 4-2 at Anfield in a campaign that saw him reach the 20-goal barrier across all competitions for the seventh consecutive season at the club.
“Fast forward to December 29 and Salah notched one and provided two more as the Merseysiders thrashed West Ham United 5-0 as he ended the year top of both the Premier League goals and assists charts with 17 and 13, respectively.
“His efforts at the London Stadium meant Salah reached 30 goal involvements in fewer games (18) than anyone in Premier League history, while also becoming only the second player to do so in 20 games after Luis Suarez for the Reds in 2013/14.
“Any thoughts Liverpool might struggle after Jurgen Klopp‘s exit in the summer have been blown away under new manager Arne Slot, with the Merseysiders ending 2025 top of the table in both the Premier League and Champions League, having lost just once.”
Half-term report
Steph Jones was the Liverpool fan selected to give her thoughts on the second half of 2024, praising Slot and recounting her most amusing moment for the Observer:
“The team have been formidable and adapted with ease to a shift in style, showing both swagger and diligence.
[…]
“Salah again deserves every plaudit that comes his way but others, like Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Jones and Gakpo merit all the acclaim they’re now getting.
“And the boss, he’s been outstanding, galvanising the squad with no additions (Chiesa doesn’t count yet), and solving the defensive midfield role by putting Gravenberch there. He has instilled a new confidence in the team who are all playing with smiles.
“He is erudite and funny, batting away contract talks, and he can get pretty het up as his yellow cards and touchline ban show.
“My funniest moment at the match was during the first game of the season at Ipswich when the home fans, aggrieved at the referee, belted out: ‘Who’s the Scouser in the black?’.
“Instant retort from the away end: ‘Alisson! Alisson!’. Made me laugh.”
Reaction to the big moments
Here is how the Mail‘s Ollie Holt brilliantly summed up Liverpool’s dramatic 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea in February:
“This is what it came down to in the end. This is what it came down to in one of the most dramatic domestic football finals Wembley has ever seen.
“On one side, Chelsea‘s billion pound squad, the collection of record signings and extravagant busts and individuals who fit all the number-crunchers’ algorithms but do not play as a team.
“And on the other side, a bunch of kids and a couple of giants. Kids from Rainhill and Warrington and Newcastle, who were in the team because Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and a phalanx of Liverpool’s best players were out injured.
“Kids so young that Alan Shearer remarked he had played against the dads of some of them. Kids who made this look like the team Liverpool might turn out in the FA Youth Cup. Kids who stepped up when their club needed them.”
Three months later, Liverpool ended the season in third place and Klopp left to an emotional farewell. Evertonian and BBC journalist Phil McNulty reflected on his last day at Anfield:
“This was a day that more about Klopp than Liverpool’s result or performance – but it was fitting the manager who has overseen so many memorable victories at Anfield should sign off his nine-year reign with a win.
[…]
“This was Klopp’s 491st match in charge and his 299th win, losing only 12 of 167 Premier League games at Anfield.
“Klopp’s remarkable record has written him into Liverpool legend, as could be seen the tears, smiles and raw emotion that played out throughout the game.
“The good news for Slot is Klopp has left him in a squad in fine shape to push for further success with a blend of world-class stars and emerging youngsters for the coach, who is coming from Feyenoord, to take on next season.
“This, however, was Klopp’s day and The Kop left him in no doubt how much they loved him and how much he will be missed.”
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Bologna on October 2 seemed routine, but it was a moment for the Telegraph‘s Chris Bascombe to write about the influence of Slot in just three short months:
“Arne Slot has achieved quite the feat within three months of becoming Liverpool manager. None of his illustrious predecessors enjoyed such a victorious start to their reign.
“An eighth win in nine games ranks Slot at the top of an elite list above Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish and Jurgen Klopp. And yet the biggest measure of the Dutchman’s immediate impact is that despite already getting to work on updating the record books, there is a sense of so much more to come.
“Bologna are not the first Liverpool opponent this season to be beaten by a display which was both brilliant and yet, in parts, a bit too vulnerable. The excellence was, at times, mesmerising.
“When Liverpool click they absorb the finest elements of the side Klopp left behind with a more flexible, creative midfield full of tricks and twirls.”
Finally, Liverpool finished the year top of the Premier League with the Guardian‘s Barney Ronay even suggesting the title race could turn into an extended procession:
“Liverpool will now enter 2025 top of the Premier League by at least seven points, and with at least one game in hand on those in their slipstream.
“Arne Slot‘s team were once again coherent, energetic and well balanced, the goals shared between that re-energised front three.
“The weather can change, teams can stumble, force majeure can intervene.
“The rest of the league is going to need help from all three to prevent the five months becoming an extended procession.”
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