What makes Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola the best of the best is that they created successful footballing dynasties with more than one set of players.
Ferguson built three title-winning sides at Manchester United, while Guardiola has dominated English and Spanish football for a sustained period with both Manchester City and Barcelona.
Jurgen Klopp is deservedly seen as one of the best coaches to ever grace the game, but to be held in the same regard as Ferguson or Guardiola, he now needs to revive a Liverpool squad past its peak and shape a new group capable of rekindling their pursuit of trophies once more.
That is why 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic has been thrust into the first team quicker than many expected. Teams can go stale quickly in the unrelenting Premier League. Just last season Liverpool went agonisingly close to an unprecedented quadruple, but the same set of players, minus Sadio Mane, have flopped this time around.
Klopp had to gamble to have any hope of starting another Anfield revolution. The energy and fire in Bajcetic is just what the doctor ordered.
“He’s a great player and person, he always tries to work hard,” Mohamed Salah said of Bajcetic after Monday’s Merseyside derby. “Since he started playing for us, he has been our best player.”
Every team has its cycle. Klopp assembled this current crop several years ago, helping create a near-imperious side capable of brilliant football. In any other era, this red machine would have won two or three more Premier League titles, had they not had to deal with the closest thing to a perfect team ever witnessed in the English top flight – Manchester City.
Liverpool v Everton player ratings
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LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson – 6. Had little to do, with Everton rarely offering much outside of Tarkowski’s effort in the first half. Reuters -
Andy Robertson – 7. Won the battle on his flank and was tireless with his runs down the left channel that stretched Everton’s defence. Booked after kicking the ball past Pickford when being called for offside. Reuters -
Joe Gomez – 7. Quick to anticipate play and used his pace to sweep up through balls in behind from Everton attacks. A much improved display after last time around against Wolves. AFP -
Joel Matip – 6. A mixed game for Matip who still doesn't look back to his best form, and made a couple of mistakes that could have been punished on another day. Settled down in the second half. Reuters -
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Stretched play going forward and patient with his passing decisions. Linked well with Salah, and he was eventually rewarded for his positive play after picking out Gakpo at the back post for Liverpool’s second goal. Getty -
Fabinho – 6. Kept things simple and transitioned the ball forward with little risk. Didn’t make too many defensive challenges, but his astute positioning meant it was difficult to break through Liverpool’s midfield. AP -
Stefan Bajcetic – 8. Some questioned the 18-year-old's inclusion, but Bajcetic rose to the occasion. A solid performance where he looked at ease despite the pressure. The midfielder controlled the game from a more advanced area, while he also contributed in a number of defensive phases. EPA -
Jordan Henderson – 7. Liverpool's midfield looked more organised with the return of their skipper, who kept things simple and helped initiate the press at the right times. AFP -
Darwin Nunez – 7. Caused problems for Everton throughout, and it was his determined run from the counter-attack before he showed the composure to pick out Salah for the opening goal. AP -
Cody Gakpo – 7. Provided some good moments of link up play, and after missing an opportunity in the first half, the Netherlands international made no mistake with his finish after the break. AFP -
Mohamed Salah – 7. Aggressive in possession and used his strength to hold-off attackers before bringing others into play. Salah was back to his best on the night, though he would probably have wanted to score more than the one that opened the scoring in the first half. Reuters -
SUBS: Diogo Jota (Nunez 70’) – 6. Stretched play on the left flank and was unlucky not to be picked out in a promising position by Bajcetic, and then by Milner. PA -
James Milner (Henderson 80’) – N/A. Came on for Henderson and should have probably had an assist, with his cross towards Jota intercepted. Reuters -
Roberto Firmino (Gakpo 80’) – N/A. An awaited return from injury from Firmino who will be glad to get some minutes in the bank. EPA -
Naby Keita (Bajcetic 89’) – N/A. On for the final minutes. AFP -
Harvey Elliott (Salah 89’) – N/A. Played the final minutes when introduced for Salah. AP -
EVERTON PLAYER RATINGS: Jordan Pickford – 5. It wasn't clear what Pickford was doing with his positioning for the first goal, though it was a difficult counter attack to deal with. Little he could do about the second. AFP -
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 5. The left-back was unable to match his level of performance against Saka last week, with the Ukraine international struggling to keep Salah from making an impact. Getty -
James Tarkowski – 5. Saw his back post header strike the woodwork, before Liverpool scored from the resulting counter. Made a strong intervention to stop the scoreline getting to 3-0 in the second half. PA -
Conor Coady – 4. A poor mistake saw him fail to clear a cross that he had the chance to get a foot to, and that allowed Liverpool to double their lead early into the second half. Sometimes sloppy with his decision-making. Getty -
Seamus Coleman – 6. Struggled to keep up with the pace of Nunez with Liverpool targeting his side, but he did make a number of interventions when dropping off more. PA -
Idrissa Gueye – 7. One of Everton’s best players despite a poor result, making multiple defensive stops to put an end to Liverpool breaks. Flashed a shot over the bar in the first half. EPA -
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 4. Poor positional play saw Doucoure too easy to play through at times, while he also offered little going forward. Reuters -
Amadou Onana – 4. Wasteful play saw Onana turnover the ball needlessly at times, and he seemed to be drawn into the occasion too much with some of his tackles. Reuters -
Dwight McNeil – 6. Worked hard on the left-flank to his manager's delight, applying pressure to Alexander-Arnold in the right moments, but couldn't make an impact with the ball. AP -
Ellis Simms – 6. Ran the channels well and caused some problems for Liverpool, with the forward targeting the space behind Matip. Getty -
Alex Iwobi – 6. Iwobi’s crosses were too easily dealt with in a game where he his opportunities arose in spells. Inaccurate with his passing. AFP -
SUBS: Demarai Gray (Simms 61’) – 6. Couldn’t get on the ball, with Everton’s midfield struggling to maintain any sort of meaningful possession, and it was clear that had an effect on Sean Dyche’s forwards. PA -
Neal Maupay (McNeil 78’) – N/A. On with 12 minutes to go as the Toffees tried to get something from the game, but he hardly had a touch of the ball. EPA -
Tom Davies (Onana 78’) – N/A. Everton’s best chance of the second half fell to Davies shortly after he came on, but the midfielder got the finish all wrong after looking to be distracted by Alexander-Arnold. PA
A first league title in 30 years and a Champions League crown are more than par for the course, however. Creating such a side meant that there was never the need for major squad overhaul. The average age of the roster has slowly been creeping up, but in the modern era, that is not so serious.
That is just what is so baffling about Liverpool’s sharp decline this season. If one key player from last term’s superhuman efforts had endured a drastic dip in form, the effect on results would not be quite so damaging. Plentiful stars from last year have fallen off a cliff - Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho the prime culprits – and that is something that cannot be countered.
Klopp has given his key personnel time to rekindle something resembling the best, hoping the squad downturn was a temporary one. The time to act, however, was upon him ahead of Monday’s Merseyside derby.
Liverpool supporters normally come bounding through the Shankly Gates whenever their local rivals are in town, given their incredible derby record, but there was a real feel of trepidation etched across red faces pre-match. Evertonians sensed blood.
For such a crucial game, where defeat could cause lasting harm to Liverpool’s top-four hopes, Klopp would have been forgiven for going with experience, especially in midfield.
Not this time. Bajcetic has impressed every time he has donned the Liverpool red since his introduction into the team early this campaign. He was ready, representing Klopp’s best hope of reviving his gegenpressing principles – the reason he is where he is today.
Bajcetic was exactly what Henderson was at the height of Liverpool’s relentlessness – omnipresent. He covered 11 kilometres against Everton before being substituted, more than any other home player during his time on the pitch.
He also pressed his opponent 35 times in the match – the sort of numbers Liverpool relied upon in their title-winning campaign.
The teenager’s crowning moment came when he won the ball back in the run-up to Cody Gakpo’s game-clinching second goal. This sort of impact is how the archetypal Klopp goals always started and would have delighted his manager.
It is still very early days, but if Klopp is going to have a shot at a new dynasty, he will need his gamble to pay off.
Should the fledgling Bajcetic continue to defy his years with a fearlessness that warranted every clap of the standing ovation he received on Monday, playing him ahead of his more experienced, out-of-form squad mates may end up not being much of a risk at all.
