Liverpool are Premier League champions. What a remarkable season it has been from Arne Slot’s men who, if you need a reminder, went into the campaign as a team in transition and one where finishing in the Champions League places would have represented a good year. But they have gone above and beyond fans’ wildest dreams and brought home their 20th league title. ALISSON BECKER – 9 The best goalkeeper in the world. It makes such a difference when the Brazil No 1 is fit and between the sticks. So many times this season – admittedly less than last as the defence has been more solid – Alisson has bailed them out. They used to say Petr Cech was ‘worth 12 points a season’ to Chelsea and this is the case with Alisson. As important as anyone. CAOIMHIN KELLEHER – 7 A capable deputy that deserves a crack at being a No 1 elsewhere next season after being a great servant for Liverpool. The Irishman has played 10 times in the Premier League this season with Alisson missing some games through injury. A couple of errors but, overall, one of the best second-choice keepers around. TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD – 8 That goal at Leicester last weekend has earned him an extra 0.5 in the rating. With three goals and six assists he is still contributing in an attacking sense and, when he is absent, Liverpool lack creativity and miss his unorthodox passing. His reputation may be dented if he does, as expected, move to Real Madrid… but he has been a stellar servant. CONOR BRADLEY – 7.5 ‘He runs like a gazelle’ was the phrase used by his first coach in a piece for Mail Sport a year ago and I think of that every time I see him play. A joy to watch him bombing up and down that right flank and he is dangerous. Highlight of the season was a thunderous sliding challenge on Kylian Mbappe. My challenge for him now is to make that right back spot his own – and to try to cut back on the niggly injuries that see him often out of the squad. IBRAHIMA KONATE – 8.5 It’s easy to forget that Konate did not start the first game of the season down at Ipswich. I thought back then that Jarell Quansah would be the main starting centre back alongside Virgil van Dijk but the Frenchman has been excellent all season and barely put a foot wrong. The stick to beat him with was injuries but he has been fully fit nearly all season here. Now to sign a new deal. VIRGIL VAN DIJK – 9.5 Captain, leader, legend. The best defender in the world. The best skipper in the world. He is the standard-setter on the training pitch and on game day. What a simply incredible season from the Dutchman who, let us not forget, turns 34 in July. The news that he had signed a new deal was perhaps the biggest of the season. JOE GOMEZ – 5.5 Has played just nine times in the league and was not in the matchday squad for the first game of the season. Harsh to mark him down but hard to give him anything higher given the fact he has missed large swathes of the season through injury. He is Liverpool’s longest-serving player and is said to still be a big voice in the dressing room even when absent. JARELL QUANSAH – 6 Not the season he would have dreamed of after an exceptional breakthrough campaign in 2023-24. Has played 11 league games but after starting the first match of the season would have hoped for much more. Still, he is 22 years old and has a lot of time to prove to the coaches that he can be a long-term option for Liverpool. ANDY ROBERTSON – 7 Yes, it has been a poor season for Robertson’s standards – but some of the abuse he has been receiving on social media has been a disgrace. The Scotsman is a modern legend at Liverpool and has not been quite as bad as some fans make out. He is 31 now, though, and it feels like his days at the very elite level are behind him. Still an admirable leader. KOSTAS TSIMIKAS – 6.5 Played 16 times which is probably more than he anticipated. Last season, for example, Klopp would use Gomez as his back-up left back. Has had some good moments and also some shaky times. If Liverpool are to sign a left back as expected, I would keep Robertson around for his leadership and sell Tsimikas. ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER – 8.5 He cost £35million, and I am tempted to leave this entry as just that price tag to hammer home what a bargain Liverpool got when signing the Argentine from Brighton in 2023. He is one of the very best midfielders in the game and is probably somewhat underrated still. Can sit deep, can influence in an attacking sense – he has it all and is super-important for this team. RYAN GRAVENBERCH – 9 Well, who saw this coming? I remember on the United States tour when I started hearing whispers that they were going to trial Gravenberch as a No 6 and thinking ‘that could work’, but ‘could’ was the operative word. The Dutchman has been exceptional. He manages to wriggle out of the tightest spaces, barely loses the ball and puts in a key defensive shift. A shoo-in for the Premier League team of the season. CURTIS JONES – 7.5 One of the most underrated players in the league and certainly this team. Whether as a No 10, a No 6 or a right back, Jones has played an important role this season. Gives energy and can pick passes. Now the challenge is for him to pop up with more goals or assists next term. DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI – 8 The first thing that pops to mind with Szoboszlai is a scene just after full time at the Etihad Stadium where he collapsed on to the turf because he had simply never stopped running all match. A vital cog in Liverpool’s midfield who is the pressing king. As he walked out of the stadium that day, he refused an interview because he was too tired – and you could not blame him. Five goals and four assists is an OK return but you would want more from the No 10 going forward. WATARU ENDO – 7.5 I am not a Liverpool fan and simply cover the club but if I was, Endo would be my favourite player. Never moans and, from what I hear, is a model professional in training. The Japan captain was out of the picture at the start of the season but has soon become a trusted figure to come on and see games out. I like to view him as somewhat of an ‘immunity card’ – bring him on and you are guaranteed to win. A warrior who deserves vast praise. HARVEY ELLIOTT – 6 These ratings are based largely on Premier League performances so we have to discount the winning goal at Paris Saint-Germain in stoppage time. Elliott is a likeable chap and is still only 22 so, despite interest from elsewhere, clearly can still succeed in the first team here. A nasty injury in autumn set him back significantly. Zero goals and one assist in 13 appearances. MOHAMED SALAH – 9.5 (PLAYER OF THE SEASON) I never have and probably never will give a 10/10 rating but there have been times this season where I have strongly toyed with the idea of giving Salah full marks when the time came round to write this piece. The Egyptian has been sensational with 27 goals and 18 assists in the league alone. The best player in Europe this season for me. FEDERICO CHIESA – 5 Like Elliott, Chiesa’s season has been ruined by injuries but he is a likeable fellow and it does feel harsh to mark him down. But just four appearances in the league has been nothing short of a failure for his first campaign on Merseyside. Slot clearly does not trust him but some cameos have been bright. Let’s see what the future holds… DARWIN NUNEZ – 7 Most of the ratings above have been quite straightforward to decide but Nunez was certainly not one of them. I think of the late goals at Brentford as worthy of gaining the Uruguayan a decent score for that alone – that result was so seismic in setting the tone for the title race and striking a hammer blow to Arsenal’s hopes. But overall, five goals and three assists in the league is not good enough. DIOGO JOTA – 7 For all the criticism Nunez gets, Jota only has one more goal in the league this season. Yes, he has been injured for a chunk of the campaign, but I would have expected more. Some good contributions, mind, and the Portugal international has scored some big goals such as in the Merseyside Derby. CODY GAKPO – 8 Another one that has been hard to rank as both Gakpo and Diaz sometimes struggle for consistency. The Dutchman has had a very pleasing season, though, playing 30 games and scoring eight goals. Seems to have runs of red-hot form then goes quiet for a few weeks – his challenge now is to turn in more regular top-class performances. LUIS DIAZ – 8 The Colombian has ended the season in brilliant fashion and his goal tally stands at 11, with seven assists. That is a decent return for the 28-year-old who is being linked with a move away this summer. Slot used him as a No 9 for a fair period of the campaign and that Salah-Diaz-Gakpo front three was the one that saw Liverpool pull ahead in the title race. MANAGER: ARNE SLOT – 9.5 Simply sensational. Slot is now in the very elite category of managers around the world. Winning the league in his first season was beyond all fans’ wildest dreams. Well done.