Hopes were high at Liverpool, after a title run the
previous season had seen them finish runners-up to eventual champions
Manchester City. Following the sale of star striker
Luis Suárez in the summer, the club spent £117 million on ten new arrivals to Anfield. Expectations were high as the new season started. However, it did not take long for things to slowly unravel. Without Suarez, Liverpool only accumulated 28 points from a possible 57, equalling their worst league start for 50 years and ending the calendar year in 8th position. They also bowed out of the Champions League at the first hurdle, finishing 3rd in their group. Despite this awful spell, the
Reds eventually recovered after the New Year, and embarked on a 12-match unbeaten run, lifting hopes of Champions League qualification. However, after losing to Manchester United, Liverpool then suffered another poor run, which saw them win just twice in their last eight games. This killed off their hopes of Champions League qualification for the following season, although they did seal Europa League qualification for 2015–16 courtesy of Arsenal's 4–0 win over
Aston Villa in the FA Cup Final. The
Reds reached both the League Cup and FA Cup semi-finals, where they lost to
Chelsea and Aston Villa, respectively. ==First team==