From a possible 281 days, the Reds spent 221 at the top and so will surely feel that fourth place is a failure as much as it is a success. After a phenomenal start, Liverpool gradually fell down the table and eventually secured that elusive Champions League qualification spot.<\/p>\n
The often nervy goalkeeper certainly improved towards the end of the season as he regained his place from German arrival Loris Karius. His handling improved, with his shot stopping as assured as ever, yet his control when punching corners and crosses was of particular significance when surrounded by a largely incapable defence who often came under criticism for failing to deal with such deliveries.<\/p>\n
The Dutch international arrived at Anfield with much promise and didn\u2019t disappoint as he was voted the club\u2019s player of the month on two occasions, while Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and fellow new debutant Sadio Mane also won the award twice, with Joel Matip winning the other.<\/p>\n
The attacking threat of Liverpool\u2019s forwards was once again the highlight of the entire campaign, who combined in equal measure to contribute with 55 league assists, compared to 50 last season, thus showing Jurgen Klopp\u2019s attacking intentions.<\/p>\n
Another statistic to vastly improve on the 2015\/16 season was pass completion, and the Reds completed 18,366 passes in the league this campaign, compared to a mere 15,834 last year.<\/p>\n
Injury-affected Sturridge topped the list for most woodwork hits with four as he looked to get on the score sheet in every game he played this campaign, where his game time was evidently limited as Klopp favoured Divock Origi more often than not. Joel Matip followed the forward closely, having hit the woodwork on three occasions this season.<\/p>\n
The former England international was hugely impressive in an unfamiliar left-back role rather than his assured midfield spot, but Milner contributed with an astonishing 259 crosses from full back, third in the overall Premier League list which saw Swansea\u2019s Gylfi Sigur\u00f0sson finish top on 304.<\/p>\n
The club’s starting XI in the FA Cup tie with Plymouth at Anfield was the youngest ever sent out by a Liverpool manager (21 years, 296 days), and shows just how much faith the manager has in the youth talents at the Merseyside club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
221 – Days spent in the top four this season From a possible 281 days, the Reds spent 221 at the top and so will surely feel that fourth place is a failure as much as it is a success. After a phenomenal start, Liverpool gradually fell down the table and eventually secured that elusive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n