Posted on May 17, 2022.
Liverpool are still chasing history in 2021-22, seeking an unprecedented quadruple of titles. They're halfway there.
The Reds have been battling on four competitive fronts this season: the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup (League Cup). They've claimed two of the titles already.
Jurgen Klopp's team has two more chances to lift silverware through May after already clinching the first two: hoisting the Carabao Cup (Feb. 27) and the FA Cup (May 14). If the Reds can manage all four, they would be the first men's team in England to win the three major domestic trophies plus the European crown.
Manchester City did their own quadruple in 2018-2019, including the Community Shield, but they were not champions of Europe; Manchester United won the Champions League in 1998-1999 and lifted the FA Cup in addition to the Premier League, but they were knocked out in the Fifth Round of the League Cup and never reached four trophies.
Outside of England, German side Bayern Munich won four trophies in 2012-2013, including the Champions League and the one-off DFL-Supercup (the equivalent of the Community Shield).
Looking back over half a century, Celtic's famous Lisbon Lions (1966-67) bagged themselves five trophies in one season, including the then-European Cup (vs. Inter Milan), plus the Scottish title, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup and the local Glasgow Cup.
Here's where Liverpool stands in each of the four competitions in which it is involved:
UEFA Champions League
Liverpool are into the Champions League final, where they will face Real Madrid in the Stade de France on May 28.
The Reds got by Villarreal in the semifinals, surviving a second-leg scare when the Yellow Submarine momentarily evened the aggregate-goal scoreline. But Klopp's men responded with three second-half goals to win the second leg and advance 5-2 across both matches.
The Reds started the tournament by winning all six of their group-stage matches in what many believed was the toughest Champions League group. Those victories came at home and away against AC Milan, Porto and Atletico Madrid, seeing the Reds safely through to the knockout stages with an average of one goal conceded per match — compared to 2.84 scored.
Liverpool then got by Italian champions Inter Milan in the Round of 16. An impressive 2-0 road win in the first leg in Italy gave Klopp's men some wiggle room in the second leg at home, where they lost to Inter 1-0 but still went through 2-1 on aggregate goals.
Then Liverpool took full advantage of a favorable quarterfinal draw against Benfica (6-4 on aggregate) and another lucky semifinal draw against Villarreal, the 7th-placed team in Spain.
Carabao Cup
Liverpool picked up its first trophy of the season on Feb. 27 in the Carabao Cup Final. The Reds needed penalty kicks to knock off Chelsea at Wembley, hoisting its record ninth EFL trophy after an epic shootout that ended with the goalkeepers taking shots.
The match finished 0-0 after extra time, but it was an entertaining scoreless draw with both sides scoring goals that were disallowed after video review.
It will not be the last tournament battle between the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the Premier League table: They will also meet in the FA Cup final.
FA Cup
In what felt like a repeat of the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool won the 2021-22 FA Cup in the the same style. The Reds downed Chelsea in another penalty-kick shootout after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes. Goalkeeper Alisson made a save on Mason Mount's attempt, allowing Liverpool left back Konstantinos Tsimikas to clinch the trophy with his conversion, 6-5 on penalties.
Liverpool reached the FA Cup final by capitalizing on three straight home matches between the Third Round and Fifth Round, knocking off Shrewsbury Town (4-1), Cardiff City (3-1) and Norwich City (2-1) at Anfield. In the quarterfinal stage, they went on the road to Championship side Nottingham Forest and claimed a slim 1-0 victory. Their toughest test came in the semis, where they beat Manchester City 3-2.
The Reds previously won the FA Cup in 2006 and had last made it to the final in 2012. The eighth trophy in the competition leaves it tied for third all-time, still well-behind Arsenal's all-time best haul of 14 cups.
Premier League
This might be the most difficult part of the 2021-22 quadruple challenge. The Reds are still in with a chance going into the final day on Sunday, May 22: They sit one point away from Man City with one match remaining.
What's clear is that Liverpool will need to win and hope that Man City lose or draw against Aston Villa. It's a Villa side that's managed by former Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who will surely take satisfaction in denying Man City the title in favor of his former club.
Here's what Liverpool need to do to win the Premier League title on the final day:
Pep Guardiola's men clearly control their own destiny, but they will need to survive the final match against Aston Villa.
The match against Wolves will be Liverpool's final home game of the season at Anfield before they travel to Paris for the 2022 UEFA Champions League final on May 28.
Liverpool run-in (1 match):
Man City run-in (1 match):
Original article by The Sporting News
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