The mid 2010’s were a rollercoaster for Liverpool fans. The Reds missed the chance to win the Premier League title in the 2013/14 season.
The following campaign, Liverpool would get knocked out of the Champions League group stages, get knocked out in the following round in the Europa League, lose an FA Cup semi-final to Aston Villa, and lose 6-1 away to Stoke City in Steven Gerrard’s last game for the club, finishing in a pitiful 6th place.
By October 2015, Brendan Rodgers got the boot, and Jurgen Klopp would replace him at the helm. This is something every Liverpool fan knows, yet I feel ten years on, the Europa League campaign Liverpool had doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
When Liverpool fans talk about ‘those European nights’ in the 21st century, we talk about the 2005 run and the 2019 moments, and rightly so, as we went on to win the Champions League in those seasons.
2007, 2018, 2022 are all talked about, even though Liverpool would ultimately fall short in the final. Even 2008 is talked about by many, due to knockout games against Inter Milan and Arsenal. The 2016 Europa League campaign isn’t talked about in the same breath.
The Dortmund game at Anfield gets the recognition it merited, but the rest of the knockout games barely get a whisper anymore. It may be down to the fact that it was in the Europa League or the fact that we wouldn’t get to enjoy the glory at the end.
When taken into context, though, the Europa League campaign that season had some of my most fond memories, and it was a period that I believe brought back the belief at Anfield and allowed us to enjoy more special nights under the German boss, so let’s take a look at the 2015/16 Europa League knockouts.
Round of 32 – Liverpool 1-0 FC Augsburg
Now, although there were so many special moments during this run, this two-legged tie was probably the only one that didn’t meet the criteria (I can’t remember much from these games myself).
This was Klopp’s first return to Germany since his departure from Borussia Dortmund the season prior, and it wasn’t particularly memorable. The game finished 0-0 on the night at the WWK Arena; however, future Red, Ragnar Klavan, featured for Augsburg.
The second leg was very similar to that of the first. James Milner scored the only goal of the tie from the penalty spot in the 5th minute, which would be enough for Liverpool to progress to the next round.
Round of 16 – Liverpool 3-1 Manchester United
When the draw was made, there was a buzz around the area, as England’s two biggest teams would face each other for the first time in a European competition.
The two teams faced off at Anfield just two months prior, where a late goal from Wayne Rooney gave United the three points against their biggest rival.
For many, this could be considered Klopp’s first big night at Anfield. They had faced Stoke City in a league cup semi final at the end of January, but this was a different beast.
The tense affair was broken halfway through the first half as Liverpool won a penalty, which was put away by Daniel Sturridge. The score was nearly doubled a minute later as Coutinho was denied by a magnificent save from David De Gea.
The Spaniard was at his best during this game, making save after save; without him, the tie would have been put to bed that game.
Chances kept coming for Liverpool, but with each passing one, it seemed like they would take a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg, which could play into the hands of the Red Devils.
Until Roberto Firmino calmly placed the ball into the top corner of the Utd net, sending the Kop wild.
2-0 was a good advantage to take into the away game, but Liverpool had won just one game at Old Trafford since 2010, keeping things in the balance.
The pressure was on for Liverpool when United went 1-0 up from the penalty spot with an hour of the game left to play.
Thankfully for the Reds, this would be one of those special Philippe Coutinho appearances, the first in which he dazzled in a European game, as he beat his man before calmly chipping the ball over De Gea from the tightest of angles.
He showcased his trickery once more in the second half. It didn’t lead to a goal, but it’s one of those moments clipped in all Coutinho video packages, as he sat Man Utd captain Michael Carrick on his ass.
Liverpool would see off their fierce foe, and their tale was far from over.
Quarter Finals – Liverpool 5-4 Borussia Dortmund
Liverpool would face the favourites for the Europa League at the Signal Iduna Park, a return for Klopp.
Dortmund had some of Europe’s most exciting players at the time, which included the likes of Mats Hummels, Julian Weigl, Ilkay Gundogan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus.
Questions were asked before kick-off as Sturridge was dropped for Divock Origi, who was struggling for form at the time.
Yet the Belgian rewarded Klopp’s trust in him as he gave Liverpool a vital away goal.
Dortmund would draw it level through Hummels, but Liverpool had a huge chance to advance thanks to Origi’s goal.
During this time, Liverpool’s defence was looking much better in comparison to the beginning of Klopp’s reign, in particular Mamadou Sakho, who went on to win man of the match in the first leg.
Liverpool had it in their hands.
And all hope seemed to evaporate inside the opening ten minutes at Anfield. Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave the Black and Yellows the advantage, which was soon doubled by Aubameyang, who celebrated in style in front of the Kop.
Origi got one back just after half-time, but any dream was quickly dashed as Reus added the German side’s third of the night.
Anfield would have to witness one of its greatest European nights if there was any chance of a semi-final clash, but that’s what they got.
Coutinho’s vicious strike into the bottom right corner and an unorthodox header by Sakho drew the tie level.
As the game headed into added time, the nerves around the stadium were apprehensive from both sets of fans.
A short free kick was played to James Milner, who lofted his cross to the back post, where Dejan Lovren powered his header past Roman Weidenfeller, sending Liverpool fans into pandemonium and Dortmund fans into despair.
Klopp even likened the evening to that famous night in Turkey, 11 years prior, but it wasn’t party time yet, as they now headed for their second semi-final of the season.
Semi Final – Liverpool 3-1 Villarreal
After wins against Man Utd and Dortmund, two footballing giants, two teams favoured in the competition, a lot of Liverpool fans were relaxed about this game against the Yellow Submarine.
The feeling around the tie was Liverpool would make light work of their Spanish foe and book their tickets to the final.
Yet when Klopp’s side travelled to the Estadio de la Ceramica, it was a gruelling affair. Liverpool found it tough on the night, sweltering under the Spanish heat.
The Reds looked to cruise out to a 0-0 stalemate, coming back to Anfield to get the job done, until one of the last kicks of the game saw Adrian Lopez score a goal to put Villarreal 1-0 up heading into the second leg.
Despite the defeat, the fixture at Anfield a week later had a certain confidence in the air, the confidence that Liverpool would go on to the Europa League final.
Inside the opening ten minutes, Liverpool drew it level thanks to an own goal from Bruno Soriano, and they would eventually take the lead thanks to Sturridge just past the hour.
When Victor Ruiz got himself a second yellow, a buzz started to take place around the famous ground, and Adam Lallana confirmed Liverpool’s place in the final with the Reds’ third goal.
What seemed like an impossible feat just eight months prior was now confirmed; Liverpool were heading to Basel to contest their first European Final since 2007.
Final – Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla
Liverpool would contest the final with Unai Emery’s Sevilla side, a team that had won the Europa League in the two previous seasons.
Thousands of Reds made the trip to Switzerland as they painted the city red.
Liverpool missed out on Champions League qualification in the league and needed to win this game to ensure any chance of playing in Europe’s elite competition next season.
Sturridge gave Liverpool the lead with a ridiculous outside-the-foot finish inside the first half, but it all came crumbling down.
Right after the second half whistle blew, Kevin Gameiro drew the game level, which was followed by two goals from Coke to deliver a third Europa League in a row for Sevilla.
The result of the final wasn’t what any Liverpool fan wanted, yet it set the building blocks in place for the future of the club.
When people speak about Klopp’s importance to the club, the key phrase mentioned is that he ‘reset the culture’, and this was done through this Europa League campaign.
He brought the belief back to the club, giving us special nights at Anfield once again, and the fans were truly sucked into the atmosphere during those games.
This season allowed Liverpool to make the move to sign Sadio Mane, the first signing under Klopp that transformed the team from ‘possibly’ to ‘certainly’.
The old heads speak about those European nights from the 70s and 80s, and the next generation speaks about the 2000s under Rafa Benitez, but the younger generation at the time had nothing.
Having been poor in Europe for almost a decade at that point, many forgot what it was like to see Anfield bouncing on European nights.
This campaign brought it back to the club and allowed the players and fans to remember what the good times were like, which brought even more special nights back to Anfield.
“2014-04 UK – Easter 070” by Edmund Nigel Gall is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Daniel Moffat 
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