Ranking the five most impactful Liverpool players of the Klopp era
5. Bobby Firmino
Interestingly enough, when the two players were both at the club, Mané would've been seen as the clear-cut candidate for this spot rather than Firmino.
However, now that we've seen the club's strengths and deficiencies with both legendary forwards gone from Anfield, it's clear that the Brazilian's qualities were more irreplaceable.
Liverpool has no issue finding explosive athletes to play Klopp's system. Darwin Nunez and Luis Díaz provide similar burst compared to what Mané brought to the table, even if neither is really the same caliber of finisher as the Senegalese winger.
However, Liverpool has not had anyone remotely similar to Firmino, the glue that quietly held together England's most lethal attacking group.
Firmino's ability to drop back and orchestrate play from a deep position isn't matched by the likes of Darwin or Diogo Jota in today's squad, and of course, his finishing has been sorely missed, as he wasn't such a prolific goal scorer, but was reliable enough to slot in a clear chance.
As the song goes- pass the ball to Bobby and he will score, a skillset that has certainly been missed since he departed Anfield.
4. Virgil van Dijk
This may seem a bit low for a player of Virgil's stature, but there are a few things to remember here. The first is that there have been quite a few world-class players to take the pitch throughout Klopp's tenure; they can't all be #1.
Another is that this isn't a best players list, it's a most impactful players list, and as good as Virgil has been, Liverpool is quite simply a centre-back factory.
Over the years, Joël Matip, Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren, and today, Ibrahima Konaté and Jarell Quansah have all contributed well at the position.
Of course, none of those players has come close to matching the level of the club's now-Captain van Dijk.
From the untouchable form he displayed in the 2018-19 season to the ironman performance of playing every minute of the 2019-20 Premier League title run, Virgil has time and again served as the anchor of one of the very best defenses in Europe.
The sad thing about Virgil's tenure is that we'll always be left wondering "what if" in regards to that reckless challenge by the despicable Jordan Pickford.
With Virgil on the pitch instead of academy players, could Liverpool have kept pushing for titles in 2021 instead of fighting for top four? More importantly, it feels as if the legendary defender's best-in-the-world form is not-so-slowly fading- would that still be the case had he never gone through such a significant injury recovery process?