Liverpool’s squad is so strong that there will never be complete agreement over which 11 men would make up the strongest possible side if everyone were available. Even without inevitable injuries, form fluctuations lead to inevitable rotation, so the idea of a dream XI can only ever be a concept.

History proves it. The side Jürgen Klopp selected for the 2019 Champions League final had never started together before and never did afterward. Yet on paper, it looks almost impossible to pick a better group of 11 Reds players in that era.

If we focus on the defense this season, the quartet who faced Atalanta in Bergamo looks to be the best available to Klopp: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson. They proved their collective mettle by recording just the third clean sheet Liverpool have kept in the Premier or Europa League in 2024, albeit Atalanta didn’t need to score thanks to its handsome Anfield win.

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If the Reds are to defy their current position of third favorites and win the 2023/24 Premier League, keeping this back four intact for the final six matches is of paramount importance. The combination of Konaté and van Dijk has played 18 full matches in all competitions this season, and the equivalent of 21.6 games in total. Liverpool has conceded less than a goal per game — one every 93 minutes — with the duo, a slight improvement on its record with other combinations.

But as the Atalanta game hinted, this central defensive pairing works well when accompanied at the back by the first choice full-backs. Remarkably, the match on Thursday was just the third in 2023/24 in which Liverpool began with this foursome in defense. The other examples were the first two games of the campaign, in which the Reds failed to keep clean sheets against Chelsea and Bournemouth but did collect four points.

Fitness problems for the full-backs explain a lot of why this premium quartet has not featured more. Robertson has missed 22 matches while Alexander-Arnold has been absent for 19, markedly more games than either Konaté (six) or van Dijk (two) have lost to injury. In a lot of cases, they were not overly missed, with Conor Bradley emerging as a very capable deputy on the right and Joe Gomez performing well on the opposite flank (though not offering the same creative threat as the first-choice left-back).

But the first choice four have provided the foundation for many of Liverpool’s best wins since Konaté joined the club in the summer of 2021. Even though the goals conceded column will always be relevant, consider some of the potent attacking performances they enabled.

The quartet’s first match starting together was the 5-0 win at Manchester United — a game which saw Alexander-Arnold provide an assist and Konaté laugh in the face of Fred. Later that season, they also played in the fantastic FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City as well as Champions League knockout phase wins over Benfica — in which Ibou scored from a Robertson assist — and Villarreal (both home and away).

In 2022/23, the famous four were at the back as the forwards tore United to shreds in a 7-0 win. They also played most of the games once the inversion of Alexander-Arnold into midfield began in earnest in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal. He provided an assist in that game and the next three in which the quartet started together too.

Their collective record is far from flawless, with defeats to Real Madrid and Bournemouth frustrating in different ways. But this backline had a streak of seven consecutive wins together in 2021/22; a similar run starting at Atalanta could yet carry Liverpool to a 20th league title.

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool has gone behind far too often this season but it's fair to assume that would have happened less frequently had the best back four been available more often. With the full-backs able to pin back and occupy opposition wide forwards and midfielders, their offensive work eases pressure on the central defensive pair. It's a system that works and hopefully, it can now see out the rest of Klopp's tenure.

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When the time comes for the Premier League Player of the Year awards to be dished out, the eventual winner of the title race will likely be represented. Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City stars should all be in the running, but there is no obvious candidate.

Sure, Phil Foden has had a remarkable season, but Alexis Mac Allister has for Liverpool and Martin Ødegaard for Arsenal too. It should essentially come down to that trio of options, and whichever player wins the Premier League is likely to have the edge.

Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah would all have been in the conversation had they not either been injured for long spells or less effective than last year, and maybe Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice should come into it as well. Usually, though, a more attack-minded player wins the gong.

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What is the case for Mac Allister? In two midfield positions, he has been excellent for Liverpool this season. The Argentine has clearly settled into life at Anfield better than anyone else the Reds signed in 2023.

Mac Allister has controlled things for Liverpool and completely transformed the center of the field. Fabinho and Jordan Henderson looked jaded last season and both moved on, but the Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia sagas left a question mark in the eyes of many about where Liverpool would end up.

Months later, Mac Allister has become the complete midfielder. The 24-year-old has become a destructive presence at the base of Jürgen Klopp's midfield at Anfield and has a creative flair that few can match. His unlikely robustness is akin to that of Luka Modrić, who was another player to have the perfect blend of class and strength.

For just $43m (£35m/€41m), Mac Allister was the bargain of the summer. And whoever takes over from Klopp at Liverpool will have one player nailed down in their starting XI without even thinking. Alongside Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, Mac Allister is another untouchable when everyone is fit.

Liverpool.com says: Foden has been brilliant and Ødegaard is delightful, but if Liverpool can get over the line somehow in the Premier League title race then Mac Allister will have proven to be the difference. The contract between the Liverpool midfield this year and last could not have been more obvious, and he is the biggest contributing factor in that.

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Liverpool might not have beaten Atalanta by enough goals to maintain its interest in the 2023/24 Europa League on Thursday night, but it demonstrated it knew how to overcome the Italian side’s man-to-man marking system. The easiest way to take opponents out of the equation and find space is through playing long passes.

The Reds’ architect in chief of this was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first start after 14 Liverpool matches and a little over two months since his last one. Per FBRef, he completed nine long passes — those of over 30 yards in length — which is a relatively high total when not playing a full game.

Alexander-Arnold delivered just the ninth instance of a Reds player succeeding with at least nine long balls when playing no more than 71 minutes away from home in the last seven seasons. He was responsible for three of the other eight, with Thiago Alcântara’s Liverpool debut at Chelsea top of the pile, with 13 long passes completed in just 45 minutes.

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It was a far shorter effort that made the greatest impact in Bergamo. An attempted cross by Alexander-Arnold hit the hand of Matteo Ruggeri, leading to the penalty from which Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game. But it was a long pass from the number 66 which set the wheels of the move in motion, as he released Luis Díaz on the left and Atalanta failed to regain possession until it was kicking off at 1-0 down.

The same link-up started a sequence leading to an Opta-defined big chance just five minutes later. Alexander-Arnold again found Díaz with a long ball and three passes later the Colombian was clean through on the Atalanta goal. While this was the end of the right-back’s lengthy passing contributing to shot-generating moves, he either shot or created three of Liverpool’s six goal attempts between then and when he was substituted.

The Reds were even more productive with their long passing on their previous visit to Atalanta. Four of the five goals they scored that night were assisted by long passes, which is a remarkable total in a single match. For context, Liverpool has eight long-ball assists in all competitions this season.

Alexander-Arnold supplied four of them. He deployed his sublime long-range passing to set up Darwin Núñez in the Carabao Cup victory at Bournemouth, then assisted both Salah and Curtis Jones in the following round against West Ham. As important as these goals were in helping the Reds secure a trophy this season, the 25-year-old’s most vital long-ball assist may yet to prove to be the one from which Salah equalized against Arsenal at Anfield.

Goals inevitably make the passes that precede them more memorable. The long ball against the Gunners was the only chance-creating one in that match but Liverpool had three in both of the following games against Burnley and Newcastle (including two from Alexander-Arnold at Turf Moor), the shots just went unconverted.

Even so, Trent’s recovery from injury means this valuable asset will return to the Reds’ attack for the Premier League title run-in. Neither he nor the team have many peers in this regard. Per WhoScored, Liverpool’s total of 93 chances created via long passes is at least 19 more than any other team in Europe’s big five leagues.

A third of the total has come from the boots of Alexander-Arnold, the top player in England for this metric this season. He’s only four shy of leading everyone in France, Germany, Italy and Spain too, with the four players above him in the standings all having played at least 500 minutes more. The England international can turn defense into attack in a heartbeat.

Liverpool.com says: With Liverpool desperate for goals in open play, the return of Alexander-Arnold could be the catalyst the attack needs. Getting the ball forward more quickly may help Núñez out of his current funk, for instance. Trent has six games left to collect the assist he needs to hit double figures for a fifth time, and a long pass may help him get it.

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Liverpool's focus is back on its Premier League title challenge after exiting Europe on Thursday night. The Reds beat Atalanta 1-0 in Italy but could not overturn the 3-0 first-leg deficit from last week at Anfield.

It means there are just six matches left of the Jürgen Klopp era, starting with Sunday's trip to Fulham. Klopp's men go into the weekend in third, two points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

But Liverpool could return to the top with victory if Arsenal does not pick up all three points at Wolves on Saturday, with City featuring in the FA Cup semi-finals. In fact, the Reds play twice before City is back in league action and can put the pressure right on Pep Guardiola's side.

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It has been a difficult few weeks for Liverpool, having won just three of its last six matches in all competitions. Sunday's defeat to Crystal Palace came as a real surprise in the title race, before Arsenal was also beaten at home by Aston Villa.

City is now in pole position to retain its Premier League crown and ex-Reds defender Jamie Carragher has dismissed the idea that Liverpool and Arsenal have thrown their title hopes away. "Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp are being judged to the ultimate standard in taking on Pep Guardiola," he writes in The Telegraph.

"If Arsenal and Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in April and May, what does that tell us about Manchester United and Chelsea for the rest of the season? They are clubs which have made so many poor decisions they are nowhere near the required level.

"City is so freakishly good with resources beyond Arsenal and Liverpool, the fairest reference point is with United and Chelsea, especially, who have spent mega millions for a watching brief in the race for the top four at this point in the season."

Liverpool's trip to Fulham is the first of three away matches in a week. It is followed by the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park before a clash with West Ham. Carragher believes there is plenty left to play for, with City also facing tough matches in the run-in.

He adds: "It is not over yet. One bad result for City allied to wins and good performances by Arsenal and Liverpool can change the landscape again."

Liverpool.com says: There has been plenty said about Liverpool and Arsenal's recent results but Carragher is right, neither should be criticized after excellent campaigns. Yes, Liverpool's form has dipped in recent weeks but the Palace loss was just the third of the season and second in 25 matches. Nobody thought the Reds would be where they are so they deserve praising, not doubting.

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Liverpool's hopes of ending Jürgen Klopp's reign with the one trophy missing from his collection are over. There will be no Dublin send-off for the German after the Reds' exit from the Europa League.

With the damage already done at Anfield last week, Liverpool could only muster a 1-0 win in the second leg of its quarter-final against Atalanta. Mohamed Salah scored the only goal from the penalty spot as the Reds crashed out 3-1 on aggregate.

Yet again, it was a similar story to recent outings, with Liverpool wasting its opportunities during the first half, before a rather lackluster effort in the second period confirmed its exit. It leaves the Reds with just the Premier League to play for now, and just six games remaining before Klopp bids farewell to Anfield.

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The UK's media were of course in attendance in Bergamo to see Liverpool's exit from Europe. Here's a round-up of what they made of Klopp's last European game in charge of the Reds.

Chris Bascombe, The Telegraph: "Liverpool’s end of an era party in Dublin is off.

"There will be no ordering a treble in the Irish capital for Jürgen Klopp. He may yet end the season with a double, but a terrible week means it is the fans who are downing the shots. Liverpool, sadly, failed to deliver enough of them to keep European dreams intact.

"A narrow second leg win over Atalanta was not enough to prevent all the hopes of a romantic Klopp farewell to Uefa competition evaporating amid the blue smoke in Bergamo, the full-time firework display heralding the Italian side’s greatest scalp.

"Liverpool’s victory was hollow rather than heroic despite the promise of Mohamed Salah’s seventh minute penalty. 'We didn’t lose tonight. We lost it at home,' Klopp accurately summed it up. 'I am disappointed we didn’t go through, not angry.'

"The damage of the shocking 3-0 defeat at Anfield was already done. The spirit of that Barcelona comeback could not be invoked. Not even the return of Divock Origi himself would have re-energised a strikeforce which has lost its spark at the worst time."

Miguel Delaney, The Independent: "Now the end is near, and Jürgen Klopp didn’t even get to do it his way. There was no last great European comeback, of the type that really made the German’s legacy at Liverpool. The failure to even get close to such a feat against a resolute Atalanta indicates there may not be one last grandstand in the Premier League, either.

"Instead, rather than making everyone lament Klopp’s departure when there might be so much more to give, this was just another match that illustrated this era really is 'running out of energy', as he put it.

"The great Mohamed Salah almost personifies this. The shadow we saw here wasn’t the player who has illuminated European football for so many seasons. It would be unfair to put too much on him or even Klopp, however.

"There is something bigger going on here, which led to a performance so unusually low in scale. This was just too much, in a way you don’t usually hear about a Klopp team.

"Liverpool just didn’t conjure enough against a canny Atalanta, who more than deserved their place in a Europa League semi-final after a 3-1 aggregate victory. It was all the more impressive given that Liverpool had been gifted an early goal, of exactly the type that often invigorates these ties. Klopp’s side instead just went flat."

Martin Hardy, The Times: "Jürgen Klopp sat on his stool like an ­exhausted boxer and did not move. It was the closing moments of his last game as Liverpool manager in Europe, a momentous seven campaigns in European football coming to an end amid the noise of Atalanta.

"Juan Musso, the Atalanta goalkeeper, had just claimed a wayward cross, fallen and stayed on the ground. The noise in the stadium increased. Klopp, hunched on a stool beside the visitors’ dugout, offered only a gentle clap.

"The German is leaving Liverpool because he feels exhausted. Heavy metal can do that. His players are starting to flag too. Their effort could not be faulted. They led early through a Mohamed Salah penalty, after only seven minutes, and then the Gewiss Stadium, itself being rebuilt, lost some of its own energy."

Lewis Steele, Daily Mail: "If you are going to fail, then make sure you fail beautifully. That was the rallying cry of Jürgen Klopp before Liverpool attempted to write another chapter into the book of inspirational comeback triumphs in Europe.

"In the end, this will have to go down as a failure. It was not beautiful, but it was a satisfactory performance that has healed some of the psychological wounds of the last fortnight and given fans hope that the Jürgen Klopp era can still have a magical ending.

"Winning on the night, via an early Mohamed Salah penalty, stopped the rot after two losses and a draw in the weeks before threatened to derail their season. Liverpool ended this tie with some credit but the damage had already been done and they left with nothing.

"Klopp will hope the Premier League finale does not follow that pattern. The German manager now has just six dates remaining on his farewell tour. The days of following Klopp’s Reds around Europe — a journey yielding four finals and a sixth European Cup crown for the club — are over.

"Salah’s goal after just seven minutes set the senses tingling that another great comeback was well on the cards but Gian Piero Gasperini’s hard-working side soon settled and induced this tie to fizzle out. With apologies for an obvious pun, the stubborn display was a typical Italian Job."

Liverpool.com says: Well, it wasn't supposed to end like this. Even in victory, Liverpool just looked like a side running out of steam. With six games still to go and the Premier League still to fight for, it doesn't look to promising for a fairy tale end to Klopp's time in charge.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.

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It is a well-trodden path that many managers have followed. When taking over at a new club, they look to strengthen by bringing in those players that they know best.

And as Rúben Amorim continues to be linked with replacing Jürgen Klopp this summer, it is no surprise to see Liverpool linked with members of his talented Sporting CP squad. After all, this is a team that sits seven points clear at the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga table and is on the verge of a league and cup double.

Amorim has so far given very little away about his future and insists his focus remains on the task at hand. At this stage, it appears a decision will only be made once the season comes to an end.

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With Liverpool likely in need of at least one defensive reinforcement this summer, a couple of Sporting talents have emerged as possible targets. According to A Bola, Gonçalo Inácio has been scouted on multiple occasions this season., while Jornal de Notícias reports that Ousmane Diomande is also on the radar.

Neither will come cheap though with both boasting significant release clauses. Diomande, who is also reportedly a target for Chelsea and Newcastle, would cost around $85m (£68m/€79m).

Denmark international Morten Hjulmand has also been mooted as a potential target. Give Me Sport claims he has admirers at Anfield, with Manchester United also in the mix.

But one of the more interesting links is with ex-Coventry striker Viktor Gyökeres, who has hit the ground running in Portugal. He only arrived last summer but has already found the net 36 times in just 44 appearances for Sporting. HITC suggests Amorim would look to bring him to Anfield, if he is appointed this summer.

Sporting legend Manuel Fernandes even admitted he hopes the Swede would join Liverpool or Bayern Munich when the times come for him to move on. Any move for another attacker is likely to hinge on the futures of Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz though, with both facing uncertain futures this summer.

Gyökeres' agent Hasan Cetinkaya previously spoke of the relationship between Amorim and the striker, telling A Bola: "It will be more difficult for Viktor to stay if Rúben leaves Sporting because Viktor came precisely because of Rúben. The day we met, I said to Rúben: ‘Here’s my boy, he came to Sporting because of you’.”

Now the Mirror claims that Liverpool could face competition from title rivals Arsenal for the 25-year-old. It is claimed that Mikel Arteta will be given a hefty transfer budget to improve his strike force this summer, with Gyökeres one of six potential targets.

Other options include Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko but it is claimed the Gunners have been 'tracking' Gyökeres and could rival Liverpool for his signature.

Liverpool.com says: Sporting is having a fantastic season under Amorim and Gyökeres has played a big part in that. He cost the club just $22m (£17m/€20m) a year ago but would command a lot more now. Arsenal's need for a striker does seem greater than Liverpool's but it could be an area that the Reds' next boss looks to strengthen. If Amorim does take over, you'd hope he may be able to tempt Gyökeres to come with him.

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