Liverpool Must Push for EFL Cup Glory, Despite Early Premier League Hopes

Liverpool welcome Championship side Leeds United to Anfield on Tuesday night to play out their knockout clash in this season’s EFL Cup—their third consecutive appearance in the tournament’s quarter-finals—with the Reds in excellent form.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are now 14 games unbeaten in all competitions, 11 in the Premier League, having last suffered defeat at the hands of Burnley on August 20, with Liverpool one of English football’s most formidable sides.

Their route to the quarter-finals has seen them triumph over Burton Albion, Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur so far, scoring 10 goals and conceding just once, keeping clean sheets against the Brewers and the Rams.

But with Liverpool vying with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City at the summit of English football’s top flight, there could be a temptation to shift the focus to the Premier League and marginalise their cup endeavours.

However, this should not be the case, with the quest for cup glory still high on Klopp’s list of priorities as manager on Merseyside, with Anfield not having tasted silverware since Kenny Dalglish’s side won the same competition back in 2012.

While Liverpool’s push for Premier League glory should continue in earnest, this cannot sideline their efforts in both the EFL Cup and, later, the FA Cup.

With their next challenge coming at home to Garry Monk’s Leeds, Klopp should be motivating his side for a convincing victory and a place in the semi-finals—where any of Hull City, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester United and West Ham United could await.

Fortunately, in Klopp, the Reds have a manager who acknowledges the importance of success on all fronts, with both his time at Borussia Dortmund and his first year at Liverpool underlining this.

Klopp took over at Dortmund in 2008, and after his predecessor, Thomas Doll, led his side to the final of the DFB-Pokal in his final season with the club, it didn’t take long for the former Mainz 05 manager to experience cup glory.

This came against Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup—Germany’s equivalent of the FA Community Shield—pitting the Bundesliga and cup champions against each other in a one-off clash.

While it took time for Klopp to settle and find stability at the Westfalenstadion, finishing sixth and fifth in 2008/09 and 2009/10, respectively, Dortmund were in a position to challenge for—and win—the title in 2010/11; and, after considerable progress, this is where he finds Liverpool in 2016/17.

Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and, tellingly, in the latter campaign also won the …

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