THERE were some worries at the beginning of this Premier League season that Liverpool would not have the squad depth required to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City.

Some of this is a hangover from the 2020-21 campaign, during which they were severely affected by injuries to their three first-team central defenders. And after the sale of Dejan Lovren in the summer of 2020, there was a feeling that they had not adequately replaced him.

A season that began as a title defence turned into a struggle to field 11 senior players. At one point there was the prospect of Liverpool not even qualifying for the Champions League, but a combination of Jurgen Klopp’s management and some solid performances from those standing in saw them finish third, ahead of Chelsea.