The Reds secured their 20th league championship in April with a 5-1 win over Tottenham at Anfield.
They then spent the final month of the campaign flying back from holidays to play their remaining four matches.
In fact, Arne Slot’s side failed to win a single game in the month of May yet still finished 10 points clear of Arsenal and 13 clear of former champions Manchester City.
At the start of the season, few tipped Liverpool to claim a top four place following the departure of Jurgen Klopp. Rival fans then tried to make themselves feel better mid-way through the campaign by suggesting it would be the club's last success for a while.
Why? Well, at the time, it looked as though Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold were all playing their final year on Merseyside.
Now though, the Reds, in the eyes of many, are the favourites to retain the title.
While Alexander-Arnold did depart on a free transfer to join Real Madrid, Van Dijk and Salah signed on for a further two years. Liverpool moved swiftly to sign a replacement for the right-back by bringing Jeremie Frimpong back to the UK. They also extended Conor Bradley’s contract.
While the former No66 is one of the best in the world at what he does, he wasn’t exactly a natural fit for Slot and his style. The Dutchman is now armed with two right-backs who fit his dynamic.
Not just that, the former Feyenoord boss has two full-backs who are fully focused on Liverpool. A scary thought for rivals.
Liverpool have also upgraded their left-back position too with the arrival of Milos Kerkez.
Andrew Robertson has played a key role in the Reds winning everything following his move from Hull City in 2017 but he is on the wane.
There’s no shame in admitting that, he’s played a lot of intense football under Klopp and it’s taken a toll on him. He had a number of nightmare moments last term.
Others might’ve let him see out his last year with the club as a starter. Liverpool weren’t sentimental though. They identified Kerkez early on in the season as the player they wanted and they went about signing one of the best young left-backs in Europe.
Caoimhin Kelleher has already left for Brentford but Liverpool signed his replacement 12 months ago. Giorgi Mamardashvili is coming in from Valencia.
The Georgian shot-stopper has the potential to eventually succeed Alisson Becker between the sticks but, for now, he’s comfortably the best back-up keeper in the Premier League.
The big one, of course, is the arrival of Florian Wirtz.
The 22-year-old moved to Liverpool in a deal worth an initial £100million. If add-ons are met, his fee rises to a British record of £116million.
The Reds had the most potent attack in the Premier League last term but, it is worth acknowledging here that they were carried by an all-timer of a season put up by Salah.
The burden needed to be eased on him while also replacing the creativity void created by the loss of Alexander-Arnold.
Wirtz does that and then some with 44 Bundesliga goal involvements across the past two seasons and an expected goal involvement (xGI) total of 38 during that period, the Germany international is someone who contributes in the final phase, both with goals and assists.
Liverpool have simultaneously freed up their main man in attack while also adding one of the best attacking threats in the world to their ranks. They’ve not just upgraded their options in the final third, they’ve taken them to another level entirely.
Already, the Premier League champions have improved their squad. And there’s more to come.
After the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £35million, the Reds are looking at Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi.
The 24-year-old has just 12 months left on his deal and could be available for as little as £40million. If this move happens, Slot has upgraded his third choice centre-back for just £5million.
That is some going. Last term, the Dutchman was reluctant to use Quansah in games meaning there was an overreliance on Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk. The arrival of Guehi removes that reliance on those two completely.
He gives Liverpool three genuine options at centre-back.
If the Premier League champions can manage the minutes of Van Dijk, something they’ve not ever been able to do before, he might be even better.
There’s also talk that Jorrel Hato could be on his way to Merseyside, possibly as a replacement for Joe Gomez as a fourth choice, versatile centre-back.
Initially, this won’t be an upgrade in quality but by simply being available, the young Dutch centre-back will be able to contribute.
His signing, due to his ability to play as a left-back, also frees Liverpool up to sell Kostas Tsimikas as well as Gomez. The Greek is, reportedly, liked by a host of Premier League clubs.
This could be a genius solution.
With Kerkez starting all 38 games for Bournemouth last term, the need for full-time left-back cover isn’t really a requirement. With finite funds, Liverpool can get a little creative by having Hato come in as back-up to the new left-back as well as the skipper.
He gets his minutes across both positions. If he doesn’t become a specialist in a set role, he’s still a decent squad option. It’s a win-win for the Reds.
Richard Hughes, by all accounts, is still looking to bolster the attack too.
This isn’t too difficult either. Yes, Salah is one of the best in the world and he’s simply irreplaceable.
Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo both played their parts in the title success too but Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez mainly had watching briefs as the Reds secured their 20th league title.
Chiesa, for whatever reason, just didn’t appeal to Slot. Darwin seemed to throw in the towel after the January transfer window while injuries, again, limited Jota after a decent start under the Dutchman.
Liverpool won the title with Diaz playing as a false-nine.
There have been links to Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. A move for the former is likely tied to outgoings. If the champions get big money for those up for sale, they might be able to tempt the Magpies with an offer they simply cannot refuse.
If not, Ekitike seems to favour a move to Anfield even though there’s interest in him from Chelsea and Manchester United.
Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail recently revealed the club are also in the market for a young, versatile forward. The links to Malick Fofana make a lot more sense now.
There’s already been a lot of change at Anfield this summer and there looks set to be more.
A lot of the time, too much change can be a bad thing but the Reds have managed to keep the backbone of the team in place which gives them the best chance of retaining their title.
They’ve kept the core group and added players with the desire to become champions. It is, on paper at least, the perfect recipe for success.
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