Jurgen Klopp's record-breaking five Liverpool years in numbers

Last updated on .From the section Liverpoolcomments355

In his first news conference as Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp posed a rhetorical question, intended to be self-deprecating: "Does anyone in this room think that I can do wonders?"

Five years on, we have our answer.

In half a decade of continual improvement at the Reds, the German has won trophies, broken records, restored the club to the top of the English game, inspired a city and more. Not bad for a "normal guy from the Black Forest".

Having just celebrated the fifth anniversary of his arrival at Anfield, BBC Sport looks at some of the stunning numbers underpinning Klopp's remarkable reign.

Getting better and better

On his first day as Liverpool boss, in October 2015, Klopp spoke of the need to turn "doubters into believers". Over the course of 272 matches and 164 wins, he has done just that.

Every season of the German's tenure has seen an improvement on the one before, with each campaign yielding an increasing number of victories and witnessing a win percentage that has risen from 44.2% in 2015-16 to 71.9% in 2019-20.

Liverpool under Klopp

"I don't compare myself with the geniuses within the history of Liverpool," said Klopp at that maiden Reds news conference. "None of these managers said they wanted to be a legend when they arrived."

Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish - these are just some of the names to whom Klopp was referring.

The German has some way to go yet before he matches the trophy haul of some of his predecessors (Paisley alone won 20 of them), but he has them all beaten with regards win percentage as Reds boss.

Liverpool manager top win percentages - Jurgen Klopp (60.3%), Kenny Dalglish (58.3%), Bob Paisley (57.4%), William Edward Barclay (57.1%), Rafael Benitez (55.4%), Joe Fagan (53.4%)

His numbers stack up against his peers in the Premier League too.

Only Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, Klopp's previous rival in Germany with whom he has been embroiled in a fascinating on-field battle in this country over the past two seasons, is averaging more points per game in the English top flight since 1992-93.

Best points-per-game record in Premier League - Pep Guardiola (2.33), Jurgen Klopp (2.17), Sir Alex Ferguson (2.16), Antonio Conte (2.07), Roberto Mancini (2.05)

It will be satisfying to Liverpool fans to see the manager who last season restored them as England's champions slightly ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who famously revelled in having "knocked them off their perch" during his trophy-laden 27 years at Manchester United.

Record-breaking Reds

"History is the base for us. It's not allowed to take the history in the backpack."

Klopp laid out his plans to start a "new way" for Liverpool in his first dealings with the English media and he has been true to his word, in record-breaking fashion.

  • From October 2019 to February 2020, the Reds won 18 consecutive league matches, a joint-record in English top-flight history
  • They also won an outright record 24 straight Premier League home matches from February 2019 to July 2020
  • They remain undefeated in their past 61 league games at Anfield - the third longest unbeaten home run in the English top flight by any side
Most points in an English top-flight season
In the past two full seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20), Liverpool have achieved points tallies of 97 and 99 respectively - two of the top six totals in English top-flight history (adjusting to three points per win). *Arsene Wenger's Arsenal were unbeaten all season as they won the Premier League in 2003-04, finishing on 90 points.

Salah, Firmino, Allison and the rest

"I believe in the potential of this team. There are four or five strikers I can work with, experienced defenders, the goalkeeper is really good."

Klopp was certainly right about the potential of the side he inherited back in 2015. He has also had to add a few key pieces along the way.

The German has used 88 players during his reign, handing a debut to 58 of those, from Connor Randall in a League Cup fourth-round win over Bournemouth in October 2015 to Diogo Jota, who came on as a substitute in a 7-2 win at Lincoln in September - a game in which Konstantinos Tsimikas and Rhys Williams also made their club debuts.

The player with the most appearances is Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino (242), who has featured in 89% of Klopp's 272 games in charge.

Most Liverpool appearances under Jurgen Klopp - Roberto Firmino (242 appearances, 211 starts), James Milner (210 appearances, 150 starts), Georginio Wijnaldum (192 appearances, 166 starts), Jordan Henderson (178 appearances, 152 starts), Sadio Mane (174 appearances, 165 starts), Mohamed Salah (158 appearances, 149 starts)

One thing Liverpool have done consistently under Klopp is score goals, with his side averaging more than two a game in the past five years.

Of the 42 different players that have scored a competitive goal under him, there are no prizes for guessing who has the most.

Most Liverpool goals under Jurgen Klopp - Mohamed Salah (99), Sadio Mane (84), Roberto Firmino (78), Philippe Coutinho (37), Divock Origi (35), Daniel Sturridge (25), James Milner (25), Georginio Wijnaldum (19), Adam Lallana (14)

The Reds' renowned front three of Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane have scored a combined 261 goals for Liverpool under the German - that accounts for 46% of Liverpool's goals in all competitions in the past five years.

Salah and Mane were both signed by Klopp, for large fees contributing to an total overall spend of £480m during the German's tenure.

Impressively, though, and assisted in part by the record-breaking sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, Klopp has been able to construct a domestic, European and global title-winning side for a net outlay of around £115m (using figures provided by Transfermarkt).

Klopp's most expensive Liverpool signings
PlayerFeeDateFrom
Virgil van Dijk£75m27/12/2017Southampton
Alisson£53m19/07/2018Roma
Naby Keita£48m29/08/2017RB Leipzig
Diogo Jota£41m19/09/2020Wolves
Fabinho£39m28/05/2018Monaco
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Comments

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355 comments

  • As a neutral all I care about is good quality entertaining football.
    So thanks to klopp for lighting up English football and showing the pessimists how it should be done.

    • James replied:
      Klopp is a football genius (whatever that means) but he has a "way" and he implements it efficiently - his players know what they are doing and are confident they can both do it and that it will work.

      Faith in Klopp amongst the team is very high and it's not about the players being better than everyone - they know the team is better than everyone - pressure off the individual somewhat.

  • Won nothing in Germany? 2 Bundesligas and a German cup.

    • terry mckenzie replied:
      Klopp has won half a dozen trophies , Mourinho,Guardiola, Ancelloti have won dozens more, but there are no weekly love-in articles about them , in fact quite the opposite they are relentlessly criticised by the likes of Simon Stone , BBC are becoming a joke organisation, cant wait for Boris to decriminalise non payment of the licence fee , that will be the end of the British Broadcasting Clowns

  • Superb Manager and fantastic person, Klopp will no doubt go down as a Liverpool legend. Brilliant signings, brilliant football, winning The Champions League and Premier League too.

    What a fantastic acquisition by FSG who deserve enormous credit. Jurgen has transformed this club back to a winning machine like the 1970’s & 80’s.

    Thank you Jurgen, thank you.

    YNWA

    • livingmercerway replied:
      😱

  • Klopp has worked wonders, look at the stats in the article and then argue - its facts, not fairy tales

    • terry mckenzie replied:
      4 years and £400m before he won anything , he was lucky most managers would have been sacked

  • It’s not just the success of the last two years, it’s the style of play in which that success has been achieved, they are a joy to watch, edge of your seat football, and there is more to come I have no doubt

    • This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

  • Klopp is not just a good and successful manager, he is a nice, down to earth person.

    Show me another manager who shook the hands of every player of the opposing team to offer commiseration when they lost - Spurs in the Championship final. Winning is important but sportsmanship is just as important. His players like him, the fans adore him, even the opposition like him.
    YNWA

    • scbarhj2 replied:
      You can only judge a person on sportsman ship when they are losing it is easy to be magnanimous in victory.

  • The BEST manager in World football Jurgen Norbert Klopp !

    • This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

  • Haters hate. A thread like this proves that with some of the stupid comments on it.

    I and many others wonder why if you hate Anything LFC why bother coming on these threads? It’s a mystery to me!

    In their day there were loads of articles on Mr Ferguson, Wenger and the not so special one.

    This has been 5 wonderful years for us. Sorry for your loss.

    • Toffee replied:
      It’s not hate, it realism. 1 premier league, that’s it. The article is disproportionate, at best. Come back when you’ve won 6 or 7.

  • The spite on here about this man is laughable. But, such is his personality, he'd laugh along too. Has he been supported? To some extent yes, but not with a blank chequebook. LFC don't sell PC for £140m, they don't buy VVD & Alisson. The short-sightedness of those saying "he spent £400m though". He & Michael Edwards brought nearly £300m of that IN. LFC deserve huge credit for manageable success.

  • Anyone who rings Fergie in the middle of the night and says we won the league is OK in my book.

    • Kev replied:
      Rings Fergie and says, guess who is back on thier perch?

  • Very bitter jd must be a Man Utd fan ynwa

  • The reason why Lvp backed him big was because they believed in him. The guy is a natural leader who deeply understands the game.He has built a great team and who does not like their style of play? Well done Jurgen. This from a 50 year Man City fan. Good to see Lvp back - now just hand us the Premiership please !!!

  • As a Liverpool fan, clealry the guy has turned my club around with fantastic style of play and success and I will be forever grateful.

    There was a piece on GMB earlier, where they interviewed an 11 year old who'd written to Klopp asking him how he should get over his anxiety of new school etc....

    Klopp replied personally, utter class.

    • Dontforgetthefurloughclubs replied:
      Utter Class - not something we are likely to hear in relation to Liverpool FC again

  • Klopp and Liverpool have done magnificently well in the last couple of years. but how many times can the BBC rewrite this story yes we understand any Liverpool story get you lots of clicks but but for goodness sake stop rewriting the same story over and over.
    as for klopp being a magnificent sportsman well we will see what a sportsman he is if he ever looses in an important game.

  • BBC LFC love-in article. Yes, Klopp has done very well and brought the club a long awaited league title, but whether he repeats that achievement remains to be seen. LFC are yet to regain anything like the devastating form shown pre lockdown, but that is a tough act to follow. Continuing to play a very high line vs Villa as the goals rolled in is a concern for LFC fans and hope for the rest of us!

  • Everything that Klopp has achieved for Liverpool is now being trashed by greedy owners.

    • Chelsea replied:
      It is already tarnished by the cheating of Mane, Salah etc.

  • Anyone would think that the city and club have had a bad week and need some positive publicity.

  • They just can't help writing articles about Liverpool and United can they.

  • Klopp is a people person. He develops people, their potential and nurtures them-this is what a good manager and leader does.
    All successful teams have stable platforms to build on. When he came to LFC the platform was not there. Klopp built that platform and now he's building the tower!
    Fergie did it at Man Utd and there's similarities between both.

  • What is the point in this article? It's been said many times over the past year or so. No axe to grind with Klopp but this just stinks of kissing someone's backside for the sake of it.

    • Richard replied:
      Sort of agree. Don't understand why these articles are being published now.

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