At this very moment, Liverpool’s first-team stars are enjoying a well-earned break after a gruelling schedule that has seen most of Jurgen Klopp’s players feature more than 30 times for the club already this season. When you add in international fixtures, that number grows even higher with the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah deprived of a summer break by the Africa Cup of Nations.
Over the past month or so, injuries have taken their toll across the Premier League with the likes of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling injured in recent weeks. Meanwhile, while the Reds have been fortunate with their big-name players so far this campaign, Klopp was forced to choose from just 12 outfield players for most of January.
Therefore, it makes sense that the Premier League has finally decided to instigate a winter break for it’s players, a practice widely seen on the rest of the continent. With each club getting two weeks off during February over staggered matchdays, the Liverpool’s players have been given time away from the club to recharge their batteries.
However, while this is the first official winter break the Premier League has observed, the Reds have had a similar break in each of last 3 seasons at by virtue of getting knocked out of the FA Cup early. During this time, Klopp’s side has had a break of between 10 and 13 days each season, slightly shorter than the 14 they have this time around.
In fact, the only time the Reds have not had such a break under Klopp is in 2016 during the German’s first season at Anfield when the Europa League tie with Augsburg dissected a break in Premier League fixtures. Otherwise, the Merseysiders have always had the opportunity to have a mid-season training camp in warmer climates, but how has this affected Klopp’s men?
In truth, the break has not always been a positive for the Reds with the side struggling for rhythm after falling out of the cycle of playing week-in week-out. In 2 of the last 3 seasons, the Reds have dropped points immediately after their unofficial winter break with the players looking sluggish not rejuvenated after their time away from Anfield.
Never was this effect more obvious than last season when Klopp’s men returned from their 10 days break with a pair of tired 0-0 draws to Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Far from looking re-energised, the Reds just looked flat on both occasions with the points dropped in the league proving crucial in the title race.
So will this season be the same? While the Reds have a relatively easy return to action next weekend away to Norwich, a Champions League tie away at the Wanda Metropolitano awaits the Reds just 3 days later. Despite sitting in 6th in La Liga, Atletico Madrid will not be easy opponents and would ruthlessly exploit any rustiness from their English opponents.
Given the Reds commanding lead in the Premier League and the importance of the Champions League, it is arguable that the winter break has come at the worst possible time for Klopp. The potential to lose momentum at this vital stage of the season will surely be a cause for concern that the German will have to manage carefully over the next week and a half.
However, the big difference this season may well be that while in previous seasons the Reds had a shorter break while their rivals were mostly still playing, this season that is not the case. With the rest of the Premier League also taking a week off, the Reds will be less behind the ‘eight ball’ domestically though Europe remains a concern.
Ideally, in the future, the winter break in England will more closely align with those on the continent and occurred just after Christmas, roughly halfway through the campaign rather than 2 thirds. However, it is likely that only a catastrophic underperformance by the English Champions League teams would trigger such a change in the short-term.
Whether or not the Reds 2-week break ends up doing more harm than good remains to be seen, though don’t be surprised if it takes a couple of weeks for Klopp to get his side back up to full speed. Having worked so hard to get themselves into a strong position in the league, the Reds will need to return from their rest ready to give one last push in search of glory on multiple fronts.
The Anfield Chronicle 