Most improved Liverpool player this season? Well, Adam Lallana was a revelation in the first half of the campaign (before he faded, with injuries), as was James Milner in a new full-back role (before he faded), as was Nathaniel Clyne in terms of his attacking output (before he reverted to hit-and-hope), and as was Jordan Henderson in the holding role before injury struck; while in the second half of the season – after the injury and a couple of months of struggles – Philippe Coutinho found his new elite level, scoring and creating at a greater rate than ever before.
Lots of players have improved under Jürgen Klopp, although the team struggled as a whole over the winter months of this season; most notably in the absence of Sadio Mané and the injuries to Coutinho and Henderson, plus the backlog of eleven games in 33 days. It split the season into two distinct halves.
However, while Sadio Mané was probably the star of the season, and the most consistent outfield threat when available, it’s Simon Mignolet who has been the most consistently improved player. After three inconsistent and at times infuriating seasons, that’s not something I thought I’d ever say. Indeed, at times I would have driven him back to Belgium, under the pretext of buying a waffle maker.
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