da fezbet： The Reds will miss out on Champions League football next season, and they only have themselves to blame

da realsbet： As Mohamed Salah put it on Thursday, even the "bare minimum" proved beyond Liverpool this season. Had you suggested, a year or so ago, that Jurgen Klopp’s side would soon find themselves outside the Champions League, few would have believed you. Football, though, moves in mysterious ways.

Having been on the brink of four trophies last term, the Reds couldn’t even secure fourth place this time around. A slow start turned into a wretched autumn, and by the time their dreadful winter was over, Klopp’s side needed miracles which ultimately never arrived.

A body blow, for sure, for a side who had contested three of the last five Champions League finals prior to this one, and one which could have a significant impact on the club moving forward.

Ultimately, though, Liverpool can have few complaints. Over the course of the season, they simply haven’t been good enough. Here’s where it all went wrong for the Reds…

GettyThe summer transfer window

For many, the die was cast at Anfield by the time the summer transfer window closed at the end of August. Liverpool simply didn’t do enough business to address the issues in their squad.

They had been active in the close season, completing deals to sign promising youngsters Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay, and committing to what could end up being a club-record deal in landing Darwin Nunez from Benfica.

But their refusal to land a high-class midfielder, despite that being an obvious weakness, was hard to fathom. Even more so when, in the closing hours of the window and with injuries mounting, they opted to loan Arthur Melo from Juventus. The Brazilian managed only 13 minutes of first-team football in the eight months which followed.

AdvertisementGettyA slow start

Having recorded points tallies of 90-plus in three of the previous four seasons, and only once been crowned champions, Liverpool know there is little margin for error when you are competing with a behemoth like Manchester City.

So when they took just two points from their first three matches of this season, the alarm bells were already ringing. The Reds were poor in drawing at Fulham on the opening weekend, couldn’t find a way past Crystal Palace at Anfield and then, most annoyingly, were outbattled by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Seven points gone, in the blink of an eye. The tone had been set.

Getty ImagesDarwin's red card

After goals off the bench against Manchester City and Fulham, there was much excitement around Liverpool’s new Uruguayan striker ahead of his Anfield debut against Palace in August. Nunez, though, made headlines for all the wrong reasons, reacting petulantly to some gentle provocation from Joachim Andersen.

His headbutt led to a straight red card, a three-game ban and, crucially, robbed him of the chance to build some early momentum in his Reds career.

Getty ImagesDiaz's injury

Liverpool’s form in the early part of the season was patchy, to say the least, but in Luis Diaz they at least had one shining star. So when the Colombian went down with a knee injury during the defeat to Arsenal in October, heads were in hands at Anfield.

The news was bad, with Diaz set to be absent until after the break for the World Cup. He returned to training, on schedule, during Liverpool’s winter training camp in Dubai, only to break down again after only a couple of sessions. 

This time, the issue would require surgery, with Diaz sidelined until April. By the time he returned, Liverpool were out of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and were playing catch-up in the Premier League.