Liverpool was thrilled to have Roberto Firmino, but the Brazilian’s summer departure for Saudi Arabia marked the end of a cycle at Anfield and the end of a generation of players that helped the Reds become the finest side in Europe. In a book that will be released on November 9th, the player narrates a few of the highlights from that legendary squad: To no one, it is a secret. Europe and the world were under our control, but there was still England to conquer, and the Premier League trophy was the one that the supporters desired most. Without a question, we were the finest up until March 2020, when the pandemic brought the world to a complete halt.
Firmino specifically identifies Diego Pablo Simeone as one of the masterminds for the demise of the legendary Liverpool team: “We knew we would eventually win the title after winning 26 of our 27 games, and our objective had already shifted to winning the league without losing. We talked about this amongst ourselves, because why not? It was, after all, win after win every week, and there was no slowing down as we neared the finish line.
However, we experienced a brief but significant season-long slump that cost us dearly. And one that, eventually, might have played a part in our decline from power in Europe and the world. We headed to Madrid in February 2020 to play Atlético in the Champions League round of sixteen. Atlético’s coach, Diego Simeone, recognised our style immediately and devised a plan to neutralise us.
How Liverpool’s prime ended
“It was our first defeat in five months, only our second of the season (the other was against Napoli in the group stage), and the truth is that we were surprised,” after being eliminated against Atlético. We believed that, as a cohesive and potent team, we were invincible at that point in the season. However, we were not unbeatable. Startled by the Atlético outcome, we discovered the hard way. Three more losses followed Madrid, and these turned out to be even more important than we had anticipated. We fell 3-0 against Watford, ending our 18-game winning streak in the Premier League and 44-game unbeaten streak.”
