Jordan Henderson thinks it’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for Liverpool’s slow start to the 2022-23 season, suggesting they still have plenty of time to turn things around by the end of the season.
Liverpool currently sit ninth in the Premier League with ten points after seven games, while in the Champions League Napoli beat them 4-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in early September.
Speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session, an insider who provides free access to football to 30,000 children aged 5-11 across England, and of which Henderson is an ambassador, the Liverpool captain explained why Liverpool hadn’t started the season as strong as they would. have hoped.
However, Henderson expects last season’s double cup winners to return to the form that saw them narrowly miss securing a historic treble in 2021-22.
“I think there are many things that led to our departure, obviously the injuries didn’t help but I don’t want to make an excuse of that so it’s not the departure we would have hoped for but there still has a long way to go and I hope that now, after the international break, we can really start our season.”
While Liverpool failed to take all three points at home to Brighton last weekend, drawing 3-3, they found their way back to midweek victory in the Champions League. A free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a penalty from Mo Salah helped send Rangers 2-0 up, but the Reds now face a difficult trip to the Emirates to face league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
Either way, Liverpool’s poor start to the season – by their high standards – doesn’t take away from the near-monumental campaign they achieved last time out. Speaking about the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid in May, Henderson expressed how deflated the team felt, but Jurgen Klopp helped add a much-needed sense of perspective.
“Obviously everyone was disappointed, but the gaffer said how proud he was of everyone and what we have achieved this season, to get into the Champions League final, to win the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup and to lead the Premier League to the last day of the season was a huge achievement in itself.
“Of course it was disappointing not to win the Champions League, but overall we were really proud of what we achieved that season.”
Entering his twelfth season at Liverpool and his eighth as club captain, Henderson is still only 32 and doesn’t see the idea that he’s ready to hang up his boots any time soon. Indeed, he still believes he has plenty of playing time left in his career.
“I still have a lot of years and fights left in me and I want to focus on my future in the game and what I can continue to do to move forward. I think that’s [what he will do after retirement] would be something I wouldn’t really start to think about until I got there.”
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