On Jan. 26, 2024, Liverpool Football Club Manager Jürgen Klopp announced he would leave the club. Klopp had made an astonishing impact on the club since he joined it in 2015, guiding the team to the Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022 and winning the tournament in 2019. 

Domestically, Klopp rebuilt the team to compete at the highest level in the Premier League. Winning the League Title in the 2019-2020 season and finishing second in 2019 and 2022, Klopp quickly won the support and hearts of Liverpool fans. 

The fans’ love for Klopp made his announcement in 2024 all the more heartbreaking. The summer following Klopp’s announcement, Liverpool announced the hiring of Arne Slot, the former manager of Dutch team Feyenoord. In soccer, a managerial change always brings uncertainty and pressure for the team. On top of this, Slot was taking on the challenge of living up to Klopp’s legacy. 

However, Slot has done an excellent job of picking up where Klopp left off. Slot quickly started a winning streak in the Premier League, helping the team maintain a steady lead at the top of the league table. 

He also started very well in the Champions League, winning seven of eight matches in the first phase. After beating strong teams such as Real Madrid and Leverkusen, Liverpool fans’ hopes were high for a successful season. 

“Every Liverpool fan I knew, including fans at WIS, felt as if they would win it all,” junior and soccer fan Leandro Dos Santos said. “While I’m not a fan of Liverpool, I must admit that Slot’s tactics have been commendable for the first half of the season.”

Slot’s adaptable strategy has been praised as one of the main reasons for Liverpool’s success this year. His strategic changes at half-time during matches, coupled with his tactical substitutions during games, have caught the attention and praise of the media. 

By February 2025, Liverpool was in the final of the domestic Carabao Cup, among several favorites to win the Champions League, and strong favorites to win the Premier League. 

However, in one week alone, Liverpool was knocked out of two of those competitions. On Tuesday, March 11, Liverpool was eliminated from the Champions League in the Round of 16 to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a game-deciding penalty shootout. The following Sunday, Liverpool lost 2-1 to Newcastle United in the final of the Carabao Cup. 

As hopes were high amongst fans, these two losses in one week alone seem to diminish the success of Liverpool’s season as a whole. 

However, looking back, most Liverpool fans, including junior Benjamin Galbraith, still reflect upon the season with pride. 

“If you had told me last season that we would win the Premier League alone, I would have taken it in an instant,” Galbraith said. 

To finish the season as Premier League Champions, Liverpool will have to keep up their sharp tactics and great form. Junior and soccer fan Jakob Nielsen shares his thoughts on the rest of Liverpool’s season.

“It’s a very underwhelming end to a season that looked like it could have been much more,” Nielsen said. 

By Zack Worth