Jurgen Klopp has all the ingredients at his disposal to end 30 years of hurt and win the title at Liverpool.
That’s the view of former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones, who was part of the 2014 side that came agonisingly close to lifting the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers.
Liverpool have not won the title since 1990 and have come close in recent years, in 2014 they ended up just two points behind Manchester City and then last season they got 97 points but were still pipped by Pep Guardiola’s side by a solitary point.
But this season with the likes of goalkeeper Alisson in top form and defender Virgil van Dijk a commanding presence at the back, Jones believes they can finally end the three decade wait for the title.
Liverpool have an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League and have yet to lose domestically this season.
And Jones says Klopp and his squad look like they can handle the pressure and expectation.
He said: “Alisson is massive for the club. For everyone, the fans feel calm having him there and he is a big name, but Adrian performed well for them as well.
“Alisson is massive for the club. For everyone, the fans feel calm having him there and he is a big name, but Adrian performed well for them as well when he was called upon.
“Having Alisson back has been massive for Liverpool. Himself and Virgil van Dijk have been two key signings for Liverpool.
“The year before last they got to the Champions League final against Real Madrid and they did not really perform. But the following year it was a different story.
“For a club you always want calm defenders and goalkeepers and in Alisson and Van Dijk they have that.”
Looking back to the year that Rodgers almost delivered the title to Merseyside, Australian keeper Jones, who is now playing in Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, says that the pressure on the squad got so intense on the squad.
Jones, 37, added: “It the type of club whereby if you cannot handle pressure then it is definitely not the club for you.
“We were on a crazy ride and finally the club was going in the direction that it should have been going for years before that.
“I think it almost got too big, as I said the pressure is enormous, but it almost got too much even for the experienced players like Steven Gerrard.
“You could see it in his body language how much it meant to him. And when it came to the end of the season we did not quite have enough to get it done. But finishing second was still a good achievement.”
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