Liverpool’s five-year wait for a Premier League title is nearly at an end as the Reds close in on a record-equalling 20th top-flight triumph.
Arne Slot ’s side need just 10 more points from its last seven games to be crowned champions – in reality it might not even be that much given Arsenal will likely slip up several times between now and the end of the season.
The current crop of players will be remembered in decades to come, particularly as Covid restrictions prevented fans from celebrating the title victory last time. Supporters have, in a sense, been waiting 35 years for this moment.
The 2024/25 success invariably leads fans to reminisce about the last title-winning side under Jurgen Klopp, eight of whom are still at Liverpool. However, there are a few less-memorable names from that 2020 squad. We’ve gone through the archives and picked out five forgotten players from that season.
Andy Lonergan
The goalkeeper was only on the books at Liverpool for one season and was signed in the summer of 2019 due to a short-term injury crisis as Alisson missed the start of the campaign. Lonergan was named on the bench eight times in that title-winning season, but just twice in the Premier League. He even received a winners’ medal in the Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup. After short spells at Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, Lonergan returned to Merseyside in 2021 and spent three years at Everton without ever playing for the club. Now 41, he’s third-choice keeper at Wigan Athletic.
Ki-Jana Hoever
The Dutchman played three cup games in 2019/20 and scored in a 2-0 Carabao Cup win over MK Dons, starting alongside the likes of Joe Gomez, James Milner and Adam Lallana. Hoever departed the following summer and joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he went on to play 25 times for the club. The 23-year-old is currently at Auxerre and has started 22 of the club’s 26 matches this season.
(Image: Getty Images)
Sepp van den Berg
A current Premier League regular, the defender has started 22 league games for Brentford this season, including in the 2-0 loss against Liverpool in January. Van den Berg only ever made four appearances for the Reds, all of which came in 2019/20. He spent the final three and a half years at Liverpool on loan elsewhere before finally departing last summer for an initial transfer fee of £20million ($25M).
Pedro Chirivella
A player who was highly regarded in Liverpool’s youth ranks, the midfielder made six cup appearances in that legendary campaign five years ago. He never quite lived up to his potential and the Spaniard’s contract expired at Liverpool in 2020. He moved to Nantes that summer, where he still plays now and is club captain.
Rhian Brewster
Another player who never quite hit the heights that were expected of him, Brewster is now at Sheffield United and could come up against Liverpool next season. The 25-year-old has netted two in his last three games and is currently playing in a more withdrawn role behind the striker. Brewster spent the second half of the 2019/20 season on loan at Swansea City and only made four appearances during his time at Anfield.
