Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pointed to Liverpool’s injury crisis as a factor behind the Reds’ finish below Manchester United in the 2020/21 campaign.
The Merseysiders lost a number of key stars throughout the season – most notably, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, with the pair sidelined for much of the term.
“It’s going to take everything to get a result against one of the best teams in Europe and the world and Liverpool are one of those,” the Norwegian told reporters in his pre-match presser, as covered in the tweet below.
“They are one of the teams we are trying to chase because what they have done in the last four years is something we are striving towards and, of course, go past them.
“We did end up above them last season, but they had a very bad spell of injuries and now they are back to their best.”
🗣️"It's going to take everything to get results against the best teams in Europe and the world and Liverpool are one of them at the moment."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer issues verdict on #LFC's quality ahead of Old Trafford clash 👀 pic.twitter.com/yAFIhOrewJ
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) October 22, 2021
The tables have since turned the following year, with Jurgen Klopp’s men four points ahead of their traditional rivals in the English top-flight ahead of the club’s visit to Old Trafford on Sunday.
It’s to the former Molde boss’ credit that he was keen to emphasise the role injuries had to play in a somewhat disappointing follow-up season to our title-winning campaign.
Certainly, it arguably highlights once more the short-term memories of a number of BBC pundits who ruled us out early on, likely due to our comparatively average prior term.
We’re due a tough, battling fixture tomorrow at Old Trafford, but we’ll be backing the side regardless to continue our positive start.