Liverpool have made winning trophies a habit this year and Juergen Klopp’s side return to England and to their push for the Premier League title galvanized after being crowned world champions in Qatar on Saturday.
It is an honor the Anfield side had never claimed before, but which is now theirs after Roberto Firmino’s extra-time goal secured a 1-0 victory over Flamengo in a hard-fought Club World Cup final in Doha.
The latest piece of silverware is Liverpool’s third in little over six months, after they won the Champions League in June and began this season by winning the UEFA Supercup on penalties against Chelsea.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The year 2019 for the club has been outstanding, but we shouldn’t be satisfied with it,” defender Virgil van Dijk said. “We should keep going, keep striving for more and keep wanting more trophies.”
Van Dijk returned against Flamengo after illness kept him out of the 2-1 semi-final victory against Monterrey and that determination to be back playing summed up Liverpool’s attitude toward the competition.
The Club World Cup is not held in the highest regard in Europe, coming in the middle of a busy club season.
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That is in contrast to South America, with Flamengo’s huge support in Doha showing just how much Saturday’s game meant to them.
“It might have been different had we got beat, then maybe some people would have said we were wasting our time or whatever, but for us even if we did lose, it was all worthwhile because we had a chance to win a trophy that the club had never won before,” Liverpool leftback Andy Robertson said.
He added that “2019 has been incredible, we have won three trophies and hopefully in 2020 there is a couple more for us.”
Photo: AFP
Liverpool are to continue their defense of the Champions League with a last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid in February and host local rivals Everton in the third round of the FA Cup on Jan. 5.
However, the Premier League is the one they really have in their sights as they seek a first English title since 1990.
As well as the trophies this year, Klopp’s team have not lost a Premier League game since their first outing of the year against Manchester City. They have won 25 and drawn one of their past 26 in the Premier League.
Photo: EPA-EFE
There was more good news for them on Saturday as nearest rivals Leicester City lost 3-1 against Manchester City, leaving Liverpool 10 points clear at the top with a game in hand.
Klopp’s squad have little time for celebrations as they return to England to prepare to visit Leicester on Thursday.
However, while a week in Qatar might have seemed like an unwanted distraction for some in a busy schedule, Klopp was keen to point out that his team have still played the same number of games as their challengers.
“If we hadn’t played here tonight we would have played at West Ham [United], so the same number of games, the same situation, and the difference is the climate, even if it was not as warm as probably Europeans would have expected at the moment,” Klopp said.
“It is still something we have to adapt to, but that is the only thing that is special, so it’s all good, and we need to make sure that we come home safely, and recover in the plane already, and then prepare the Leicester game,” he said.
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