It is only fitting that my last post of 2019 happens to be about the team which has been head and shoulders above every other team in world football this year.
Liverpool's utterly dominant season reached a new high with a 4-0 demolition of Leicester City. Although Roberto Firmino scored two goals, the majority of the plaudits would go to Trent Alexander-Arnold and rightly so - he had perhaps the best match of his career against the Foxes.
However, as great as the Reds have been this season, I honestly believe that they are still underrated by most. This team is making history with every match they win. We are witnessing one of the greatest teams in the history of club football at the peak of their powers.
Liverpool currently hold a 13-point lead over second-placed Leicester in the Premier League as of this post. To make this statistic even more astonishing: only half the season has passed thus far. They will not only win the Premier League but must also be considered the favourites to clinch back-to-back Champions League titles. They seem to be lightyears ahead of not only every other club in England, but also every other club in world football.
This is a team which truly has no real weakness. To put into perspective just how stacked the Merseyside club's current roster is, they have no fewer than six players who are either arguably or unquestionably the best player in the world at their respective positions: Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Sadio Mané, and Mo Salah. Furthermore, Alisson and van Dijk are genuine Ballon d'Or contenders.
Of course, there cannot be any doubt that the person who has been most responsible for Liverpool's incredible success has been head coach Jürgen Klopp. Klopp has not only clearly established himself as the world's best coach today, but also one of the greatest coaches of all time. Of the players whom I mentioned in the previous paragraph, not one of them was regarded as a superstar when they were first signed by Liverpool. Much of their development as players has been because of Klopp. Klopp's tactics have also been on another level compared to every other coach. This Liverpool team employs his "Gegenpressing" strategy to its greatest extent; no other team seems to have an answer for this tactic because of the combination of Klopp's tactical genius and Liverpool's current personnel.
Liverpool's front office and scouting department also deserve an immense amount of credit. Not only has every bit of money spent on transfers been put to good use, but they have even been able to unearth many a future mainstay of the team through pickups from less heralded clubs such as Red Bull Salzburg, Newcastle United, Hull City, and perhaps most notably of all, Southampton. It is rare that a club actually gets better after selling their best player, but so well have Liverpool run the club and used the excess money in the wake of Philippe Coutinho's departure to Barcelona that such has proven to be the case.
Due to all of the factors which have been mentioned, Liverpool are now in such a position which sees them hold such a lead in the league that during weeks in which they have matches in both the league and Champions League, they could (and should) rest their starters in the league match to keep them fresh for the Champions League - realistically, they will not lose five more league matches than their closest rivals. This therefore would put Liverpool in prime position to clinch a Premier League and Champions League double.
There is a very real possibility that as soon as the end of this season, this current Liverpool team will be regarded as the greatest team in the history of English club football and one of the all-time greats. A successful Champions League title defense would undoubtedly seal their place as the greatest team to ever come out of England.
Decades from now, Liverpool fans will surely wax lyrical about this current Liverpool team - perhaps while standing in front of the Jürgen Klopp statue at the corner of the newly-renamed van Dijk and Salah Streets just outside Anfield.
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