Liverpool 21/22 — Cup Double, 92 Points: Full Squad & Ratings

Liverpool 2021/22 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.

Liverpool 2021/22 — Season Story

Liverpool's 2021/22 season was the closest any English club has come to the quadruple: two domestic cups won, the league lost by a single point, and the Champions League final lost to Real Madrid. Jurgen Klopp's team played 63 matches in a season that ran from August to May, chasing four trophies deep into the final weeks, and came within two results of the impossible.

The two domestic cups were both won on penalties against Chelsea, in finals that could have gone either way. In February, the League Cup final finished 0-0 before Liverpool won 11-10 in the longest penalty shootout in English cup final history — Chelsea's keeper Kepa, sent on specifically for the shootout, blazed the decisive kick over. In May, the FA Cup final also ended 0-0, and Liverpool won the shootout 6-5, with Kostas Tsimikas converting the winner. Two finals, two shootouts, two trophies.

The league campaign was a war of attrition with Manchester City. Liverpool led the table in January, fell behind in the spring, and took the race to the final day before City's 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa settled it. The margin: one point, 93 to 92. Liverpool had won their last ten league games and still finished second — the highest-scoring runner-up in the division's history with 94 goals.

The season ended in Paris with a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final, a game Liverpool dominated without finding a goal. The disappointment was real, but the achievement was immense: 92 league points, 94 goals, two cups, a European final, and a squad so deep that January signing Luis Diaz walked straight into the first team. In 38-0, the 2021/22 squad is rated 83.3 OVR — the highest of all the Liverpool sides in the pool.

The Quadruple That Nearly Was

The quadruple was not a media invention — it was a real possibility until the second week of May. Liverpool were in contention for all four trophies on 1 May, with the FA Cup final, Champions League final and the last three league games still to come. The fixture list was brutal: 63 matches in total, including a run of seven games in 21 days in April.

The squad rotation that made it possible was Klopp's masterpiece. Alisson played almost everything, but everywhere else the squad turned over: Diaz arrived in January and started within weeks, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino shared the number 9 role, and players like Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and James Milner all started big games. The depth that other clubs envied was the reason Liverpool were still fighting on three fronts in May.

Two Finals, Two Shootouts, Two Trophies

The League Cup final in February was a goalless marathon decided by 21 penalties. Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga, substituted on in the dying seconds specifically to save penalties, faced the decisive 22nd kick — and sent it over the bar. It was Liverpool's first trophy of the Klopp era in front of fans, and Caoimhin Kelleher, the backup goalkeeper who played the whole final, saved two spot kicks.

The FA Cup final three months later was almost identical: 0-0 after 120 minutes, and a shootout that reached 6-5. This time it was Liverpool's keeper, Alisson, who was the hero in the shootout, saving Mason Mount's effort. Tsimikas, on as a late substitute, converted the winner and ran to celebrate with Klopp — the image that summed up a cup double won on nerve rather than brilliance.

One Point Short in the Greatest Chase

The league title was decided by the finest of margins. Liverpool won their final ten games; City won their final eleven, including that extraordinary final-day comeback against Aston Villa. The 3-2 win at Wolves on the last day gave Liverpool 92 points — enough to win the league in any season before or since, except the one they were playing in.

The deciding moment came in April: City's 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool in the second Manchester meeting, when Riyad Mahrez missed a last-minute penalty that would have effectively ended the race. Instead it stayed alive until the final whistle of the final game, and the two best teams in the country finished with 185 points between them — the highest combined total in top-flight history.

Key Players & Ratings

Mohamed Salah (90 OVR) is the highest-rated player in the squad and shared the Golden Boot — his 23 league goals and 14 assists made him the most productive player in the division. Alisson Becker (89) and Virgil van Dijk (89) anchor the defence, Trent Alexander-Arnold (87) is the most creative full-back in the game, and Andy Robertson (86) matches him on the other side.

The squad average of 83.3 OVR is the highest of any Liverpool side in the 38-0 pool, and the depth is remarkable: Fabinho (85), Thiago (85), Diogo Jota (84), Luis Diaz (83), Jordan Henderson (83) and Roberto Firmino (82) all feature. There is no weak line in this squad — it is a premium draft landing by any measure.

Full 18-Man Squad

Best XI — Liverpool 2021/22

The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:

• GK Alisson Becker 89 OVR
• RB Trent Alexander-Arnold 87 OVR
• CB Virgil van Dijk 89 OVR
• CB Joël Matip 83 OVR
• LB Andy Robertson 86 OVR
• CDM Fabinho 85 OVR
• CM Thiago Alcántara 85 OVR
• CM Jordan Henderson 83 OVR
• RW Mohamed Salah 90 OVR
• LW Sadio Mané 86 OVR
• ST Diogo Jota 84 OVR

Drafting This Squad in 38-0

This is one of the strongest landings in the entire draft. The obvious picks: Salah for a game-winning attacker, Van Dijk or Alisson for the defensive spine, Alexander-Arnold for a creative right-back. The depth means every position is covered — even the sixth or seventh choice here outranks most squads' stars.

In Legend mode, the trap is the opposite of the value squads — there are no bad picks, so the only error is wasting the landing on a position you already have covered when an elite name is available. The clear top tier is Salah (90), Van Dijk and Alisson (89), then a second tier of Alexander-Arnold (87), Robertson (86), Fabinho and Thiago (85).

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