It was at Old Trafford in March that Jurgen Klopp saw his Liverpool side struggling physically for the first time. Five weeks later at Goodison Park, he realised that they were mentally exhausted too. Liverpool were still in the title race and yet several players looked as if they just wanted the season to end there and then. Klopp was horrified. He could forgive fatigue, but not surrender.
"In Germany, when the crowd is not happy with the team and they think they are not fighting enough they sing a song 'Wir wollen euch kampfen sehen' that translates into 'We want to see you fight!' I was close to singing that," a visibly distraught Klopp confessed to reporters after the dismal derby defeat at Everton. "Never has one of my teams heard that ever. Never. I never heard anyone say my team didn't fight - because my team [always] went for it. And now it's: 'Wow, how can that happen?'"
However, some supporters and pundits are in no doubt as to why Liverpool have stumbled down the home stretch. They believe that the Reds were doomed to end the season on a low from the moment Klopp revealed he would be stepping down this summer, believing he only has himself to blame for this most underwhelming of send-offs.
