Early kick-offs at 12:30pm were always an issue for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp as shown by his record in the fixtures. The German made his feelings clear on 12:30pm kick-offs in the past - especially after featuring in midweek matches and following international breaks. The Arne Slot era will begin with another early kick-off, coming away at Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
When the 2023-24 season came to an end, Jurgen Klopp departed Liverpool after an incredible nine years with the club . For all his success, one thing the German manager won't miss is the early kick-offs he and his team faced during his tenure at Anfield. With the former head coach being known to actively dislike facing 12:30pm start times on a Saturday, especially after playing midweek fixtures beforehand, it's interesting that his first-ever game in the Liverpool dugout was a lunchtime game.
His team drew 0-0 against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in October 2015. Ironically, his successor in the hot seat at Anfield will also begin his career with an early kick-off. Indeed, Arne Slot will take on Ipswich Town away from home at 12:30 in the club's first game of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
None of the members of Klopp's first squad remain at the club, and very few have found success since leaving Anfield. With Klopp's disdain for this time slot well-documented, it's interesting to look at Liverpool's record in 12:30pm kick-offs since 2015. Time will only tell if things improve under Slot.
Liverpool Record in Early Kick-offs During his first two years at the club, Klopp enjoyed a strong record in early fixtures, although he had the luxury of no midweek European football in the 2016-17 campaign. Liverpool won five out of eight 12:30pm kick-offs in the German boss' first two seasons, losing only two. When the Reds secured a return to the Champions League with a top-four finish, results in early Saturday games took a nosedive, perhaps proving the point that it's harder to juggle multiple competitions without suffering.
The 2017-18 campaign was the first sign that Klopp could have Liverpool competing at the top table as they reached the Champions League final. However, the Merseyside-based outfit won only one of eight matches at lunchtime on Saturdays, with the most notable defeat coming in a 5-0 thrashing at the Etihad Stadium which saw Sadio Mane dismissed for a high foot. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have produced some absolute classics, but which encounter was the best between the teams? The following two seasons saw the team return to winning ways, coming out victorious in all three of their early kick-offs in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns.
The latter was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Reds lifted their first-ever Premier League trophy having not been derailed by poor 12:30pm results. An injury-hit team struggled to find any form of consistency, regardless of the time the game started during the 2020-21 season behind closed doors, but the following season looked a lot more like the Liverpool side that fans have grown to recognise under Klopp. They went within two games of winning an unprecedented quadruple after winning five out of five lunchtime kick-offs but were just beaten to the title by Manchester City on the final day.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Liverpool had more 12:30pm Saturday kick-offs in the 2023-24 Premier League season than any other club (6). During his final two seasons in the Premier League, Klopp saw his side claim all three points in only four of 12 early games. His final win, and the club's most recent, came in a 4-1 success at the G-tech Community Stadium against Brentford in February 2024.
The very final 12:30pm kick-off of the Klopp era saw the Reds travel to West Ham in April 2024. The team would be held to a 2-2 draw, effectively ending any remaining hopes of a title push. That said, avoiding defeat did at least mean they went unbeaten in that time slot for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign.
Liverpool in 12:30pm kick-offs since 2015 Season Played Wins Draws Losses 2015/16 4 2 1 1 2016/17 4 2 1 1 2017/18 8 1 6 1 2018/19 3 3 0 0 2019/20 3 3 0 0 2020/21 4 1 2 1 2021/22 5 5 0 0 2022/23 6 0 3 3 2023/24 6 4 2 0 Total 43 21 15 7 What Klopp Said About Early Games Ahead of Liverpool's game against Manchester City earlier in the 2023/24 season, Klopp fumed about how little time his players would have to train after returning from international duty before having to tackle a 12:30pm kick-off. Per The Guardian , he said: "How can you put a game like this on Saturday at 12.30pm? Honestly, the people making these decisions, they cannot feel football, it is just not possible.
And it is the moment where the world pays the most to see a football game." The German wasn't shy to get a cheeky dig in at the people who make the decisions regarding fixture scheduling as he continued: "If the Premier League has the opportunity to do it, be ready on Saturday at 12.30pm.
" The German mastermind is no stranger when it comes to a passionate rant. What Slot Has Said About Early Games Upon learning that the first competitive Liverpool game under Slot would take place in this infamous time slot, the press quizzed the Liverpool boss on the matter. The 45-year-old, however, seemed pretty mellow about the situation , explaining that the timing was acceptable as it wouldn't be coming after a mid-week European clash.
He said: “And they've told me it's going to be 12.30..
. from what I know, Jurgen [Klopp] complained a lot about this so probably they thought, with Jurgen being out let's put them at 12.30 again! “No, it's different to a normal 12.
30 because it's not after a game in Europe. Looking forward to it. A promoted team [Ipswich] so it's going to be special for them as well.
“I think every team might prefer a home game to start with, but we're going to face Ipswich and we are looking forward to that.” Why Liverpool Play So Many 12:30pm Games The Reds are one of the biggest teams on the planet and, as such, TV broadcasters are always eager to get rights to Liverpool matches to be shown live. TNT Sports often have the early Saturday kick-off in the UK and this is one of the main reasons why the Anflied outfit regularly find their games slotted in at this time.
Klopp once got into a heated argument with Des Kelly , quizzing the TNT Sports interviewer: "Who had the idea to bring us at 12:30? Was it Watford? If you [BT] wouldn’t have said it we would’ve had to reply, ah yeah, thank you for your help, really, thank you, thank you very much." It will be interesting to see how Slot feels about the kick-off by the time he leaves Anfield. Information in this article is courtesy of 90 Min (Correct as of 13/08/2024).
