Jurgen Klopp’s starting eleven at Fulham included six players aged 30 or over, an age profile that has only occurred once for Liverpool in the Premier League since 1994.
The Reds’ current squad has an average age of 26.3, with eight members of Klopp’s first team aged 30 or over.
And six of those eight players were named in the starting eleven against Fulham on Saturday: Virgil van Dijk (31), Joel Matip (30), Jordan Henderson (32), Thiago (31), Mohamed Salah (30) and Roberto Firmino (30) 30).
Only two did not see out the full 90 minutes, while James Milner (36) took the average after his introduction on the hour mark.
But it is Klopp’s XI that has caught the eye as, according to Opta Joe, it is the first time since 1994 that Liverpool have named six players aged 30 or over in a Premier League starting line-up.
30+ – Liverpool have six players over the age of 30 in their starting XI today, the first time they have done so in a Premier League game since February 1994 against Southampton. mature
Firmino, Henderson, Matip, Salah, Thiago, van Dijk | Barnes, Grobbelaar, Nicol, Rush, Whelan, Wright. pic.twitter.com/ThNe0PS9ec
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 6, 2022
The last time was when Bruce Grobbelaar, John Barnes, Steve Nicol, Mark Wright, Ronnie Whelan and Ian Rush were named in Roy Evans’ XI against Southampton in February 1994.
Fulham’s XI is full of experience and knowledge, but also highlights how continuous evolution will be necessary for Klopp’s squad.
The arrival of Fabio Carvalho (19), Calvin Ramsay (19) and Darwin Nunez (23) has injected fresh blood and the hope is that it will soon be their turn to rely on, among others Ibrahima Konate (23), Harvey. Elliott (19) and Curtis Jones (21).
But as they did last season, Liverpool are still relying heavily on their senior figures this season and the question is will they still top the over-30s list at the end of the campaign?
Last season, the Reds had the highest percentage of minutes played by players who, going into 20223, had to be 30 or older, at 46.2 percent. That was 6.3 per cent more than the next-placed side in Newcastle.
It’s no surprise to have seen the club make a concerted effort to reduce the average age of the squad in the summer, but for now, Klopp is clearly content to still draw on his veterans.