Thiago admits challenging for ‘everything’ drained Liverpool as Reds seek to rediscover lost spark

• Played every available fixture last season
• Won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup
• Struggling for consistency in 2022-23

WHAT HAPPENED? The Reds took in every available fixture last term, with a Premier League title bid and run to the Champions League final complemented by FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs. Two trophies was certainly better than none, but Jurgen Klopp’s side did miss out on the grandest of domestic and European prizes - and they have found the going tough this time around after bidding farewell to talismanic Senegalese forward Sadio Mane and seeing untimely injuries stack up.

WHAT THEY SAID: Thiago has told reporters when asked if Liverpool’s energy-sapping efforts last season have contributed to struggles in the present: “For sure. It’s not just about physical stuff. It’s also something psychological. We were so close to winning everything. We just touched it but it went away. Last season I had one of the greatest seasons I’ve had in my life. This season is not one of the best, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a season, it’s a challenge. I think we have great quality and great guys to sort it out and we will do that.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: While Liverpool have slipped to ninth in the Premier League table, they remain in the hunt for more major honours and Thiago is convinced that their best form can be rediscovered. The Spain international midfielder added: “We are in a great position for Champions League and FA Cup. We are not in the position we want in the Premier League, but we are there. We are now in our reality where we have to go game by game. Trying to add those three points will help us to be as high as possible. Our aim is the next game. It’s not about to be in the top four or to be in Europa League. We just think about next game.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Liverpool’s next outing will see them travel to Brighton on Sunday for a FA Cup fourth-round clash. Three vital Premier League games follow that tie, before they host Real Madrid in the first leg of a heavyweight Champions League last-16 encounter on February 21.