THE VITALS:

Team: Liverpool

Brand: Nike

Era: 2020-21 (Used for the 2020 FA Community Shield match and the 2020-21 Premier League season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This shirt is nothing short of immaculate! It bears zero to little wear at all, leading me to think that it may have just had the tags removed but never worn!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large

Pit to Pit Measurement: 21.5 inches

Shirt Length: 28 inches 

Made by Nike in their ‘Dri-Fit’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2020; the dimensions of this shirt suggest that this is a generous size large, which may even fit someone who wears an extra-large shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

It was a new era for Liverpool FC as Nike became the club’s kit manufacturer ahead of the 2020-21 season! The timing could not have been better as the club celebrated ending a 30 year wait for domestic supremacy, following their Premier League title win the 2019-20 season. Nike’s first ever Liverpool home shirt would instantly distinguish itself from the New Balance era as they elected to produce a clean and minimalist design; a far cry from the vast spectrum of designs utilised by their predecessor. Using a very rich of red, Nike would also use green accents as the tertiary colour of the home shirt – something not seen on a Liverpool home shirt since the classic 1993-95 home shirt! This would be the last home shirt to be worm by Georginio Wijanaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri as two of the stalwarts of Liverpool’s recent successes moved to Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Lyonnais respectively.

THE SEASON:

Not even the Coronavirus pandemic which swept the world in 2020 could blight an incredible 2019-20 season as Liverpool won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and most importantly – the 2019-20 Premier League crown; ending a 30 year wait to become champions of England for a 19^th time!

Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne’s departures would further distance the club from its previous era under Brendan Rodgers; as did the acquisitions of Diogo Jota who was signed for £41 million from Wolverhampton Wanderers and the world-class Thiago Alcantara who arrived from Bayern Munich for £20 million!

With the league season ending in late-July 2020 after the successful ‘Project Restart’, their title defence would get underway on September 12^th against newly promoted – Leeds United at Anfield. This empty stadium classic ended 4-3 to Liverpool in what was a sign of the chaotic season that lay ahead for the champions. Follow up victories over Chelsea and Arsenal were then blighted as they were infamously beaten 7-2 away against Aston Villa and then a week later, would lose Virgil Van Dijk for the rest of the season in the 2-2 versus Everton. Still, in spite of the set-backs, they would end 2020 at the top of the table; even if it was on goal difference.

Heading into 2021 on the back of a pair of draws; the club would endure a miserable 3^rd quarter of the season, as they won just three times, losing 6 times; culminating in an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Fulham on March 7^th. From there, Jurgen Klopp’s side would steady the ship; going unbeaten in their remaining 10 games; winning 8 of them to eventually secure a 3^rd place finish.

The cup competitions offered no respite during what was at times a very painful season for the club, beginning with a surprise defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield when they were beaten on penalties by the FA Cup holders; ‘The Gunners’ would then eliminate them from the EFL Cup – also on penalties, and then most damming, they would be eliminated by Manchester United in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup on the 24^th January 2021!

After successfully navigating a Champions League Group Stage that also featured – Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland; they would be tasked with semi-finalists in 2020 – RB Leipzig. Away from the tailspin of the league; the home and away victories over the German side n Hungary would be a welcome distraction, however, their quest would end at the quarter final stage against a perennial foe in Real Madrid.

The notable players that season were:

Divock Origi, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Xherdan Shaqiri, Thiago, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Ben Woodburn, James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, Neco Williams Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams, Ben Davies, Kostas Tsimikas, Ozan Kabak, Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk, Allison Becker, Adrian, Caoimhin Kelleher