It wouldn’t be a Liverpool major final appearance if the Reds weren’t sweating over the fitness of a couple of key players in the build-up to the game.
With Jurgen Klopp’s side taking on Chelsea in the League Cup final on Sunday, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino have both faced a race against time to be fit for proceedings at Wembley.
Come assistant manager Pep Lijnders’ pre-match press conference on Friday and confirmation was it. While Liverpool still hoped that the Portuguese could be fit for the final, refusing to rule him out, the Brazilian had lost his battle to return.
This is not new territory for the Reds, Klopp has long-grown accustomed to having members missing from his squad. In fact, the brief two weeks earlier this month when he actually boasted a fully fit side was the novelty, with the German bemoaning being asked about his new-found strength-in-depth, pointing out fresh injuries would only be around the corner.
Unfortunately Jota and Firmino both proved his warning right.
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As such, the duo’s battle to prove their fitness, regardless of its success, ensured Liverpool’s latest pre-final build-up has once again been plagued by an injury subplot, as has been the case for every major final under Klopp’s watch.
In the German’s first season at the club, Adam Lallana was missing for the majority of February with a calf problem before returning as a substitute against Man City in the League Cup final at Wembley.
Fast forward three months and with the Reds in Europa League final action against Sevilla, knowing victory would see them qualify for the Champions League, Jordan Henderson and Divock Origi were both rushed back to action.
The club captain had been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, suffered in the quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund, but did actually return as a substitute on the last day of the season against West Bromwich Albion in a bid to prove his fitness in time for the final.
In contrast, Origi didn’t even manage that after suffering an ankle injury in the Merseyside derby against Everton in April. Yet with both on the bench when trailing to the La Liga outfit, Klopp turned to the Belgian in a desperate attempt to rescue something from the game.
Come 2018 and Liverpool were in Champions League final action as they faced Real Madrid in Kiev, with Emre Can and Adam Lallana both in the matchday squad despite the fact that the German hadn’t played since March because of a back injury, while the England international had only returned from a hamstring injury as a late substitute on the last day of the season against Brighton.
Mohamed Salah’s Sergio Ramos-inflicted shoulder injury saw Lallana brought on after just 30 minutes, while Can would be introduced late on with the Reds trailing as a Loris Karius horror show saw them fall to a 3-1 defeat.
Firmino was the man racing back from injury 12 months later after suffering a groin injury, realising the damage during an attempted comeback against Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at the start of May before missing the end of the Premier League season.
Rested for the Champions League final, he would start against Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid, but was clearly still affected by the setback during an underwhelming display and withdrawn just short of the hour-mark.
On each occasion a lack of quality strength-in-depth has seen Liverpool rush the aforementioned players back from injury in an attempt to bolster options. Yet on each occasion when turned to, adrenaline has only taken them so far and when clearly not match fit, they have ultimately all been ineffectual.
Their inclusions were desperate gambles that ultimately failed to pay off, with Klopp’s hand perhaps admittedly forced due to the options at his disposal at the time.
But now boasting the strongest squad of his Reds reign, he can avoid making any such gambles against Chelsea on Sunday.
In the past Jota would have been rushed back and named on the bench at the very least, with the absence of such a star a devastating blow ahead of such a big match.
But now, following the signing of Luis Diaz, Klopp has enough senior options in his squad to name a quality starting front three with back-up options without even having to rely on the Portuguese.
If he ends up named in the squad, it will be because he is fit to play, with the ideal situation arguably being a game where Liverpool run out winners without even needing to call on his services.
Yes, there is no escaping it is a blow for the Reds to be without Firmino against Chelsea, and they’d surely rather have Jota fit to face Thomas Tuchel’s side than push ahead without him.
But Klopp now has enough strength in Liverpool’s ranks to win without the need for any such desperate gambles.
Six years on from his first Wembley domestic final appearance, the German’s Reds transformation is complete.
