Liverpool were in the brick of making history in the closing stages of the 2021/22 season. With the League Cup and FA Cup in the bag, they were in with a chance of winning both the English Premier League and the Champions League.
With Manchester City losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season, it appeared Liverpool were on their way to the league title.
"The lads have given everything." 💯— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 29, 2022
"The lads have given everything." 💯
However, a stunning comeback from Manchester City in the final 15 minutes of their match led them to a 3-2 win and saw Liverpool finish in second place despite amassing 92 points.
Liverpool went into the final day of the season as second favourites but to be denied in that way was cruel and difficult to take.
However, Liverpool still had a Champions League final to contest against a Real Madrid team who beat the odds to reach the final.
Having lost in the group stage of the Champions League against Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova, Real Madrid produced some stunning comebacks to beat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the knockout stages of the competition to reach the final.
Liverpool were the favourites to win the Champions League final and started well, putting Real Madrid under pressure.
However, Liverpool failed to create one clear goal scoring opportunity despite all their pressure and Real Madrid saw out the first half on top.
Liverpool did not produce the same level of performance in the second half and were punished when Real Madrid put a move together down the right side of the pitch and scored at the back post to lead 1-0.
Liverpool had 24 shots on goal during the game and could not make the breakthrough, losing the final 1-0. That is the most shots in a Champions League final without scoring a goal since 2003/04.
Mohamed Salah forced Thibaut Courtois into a superb save in the second half and the Egyptian forward had 6 shots on target during the 90 minutes, the most of any player in a Champions League final yet Liverpool failed to score a goal.
The 1-0 loss to Real Madrid means Liverpool failed to score a single goal in the 3 finals they contested this season. The 3 biggest matches of the campaign and Liverpool did not score a goal. The Reds also failed to beat any of the top four teams in the Premier League this season.
It is worth noting Liverpool did not lose to Manchester City, Chelsea, or Tottenham Hotspur but just one win in either of those 6 games would have made a massive difference.
There are rumours both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane could leave Liverpool in the summer. They would be losing a lot of goals should that be the case, which is unwelcome news considering their goal scoring record in finals this season.
Creating and scoring chances in big games is what makes the difference and is something Liverpool must address ahead of next season.