Liverpool might have signed a back-to-back Champions League winner in Bradley Barcola last month, but experience is somewhat lacking elsewhere across the rest of their squad.Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Joe Gomez are now the only survivors from Liverpool’s last Champions League triumph in 2019, while Kostas Tsimikas is the only other player in the squad to have experienced a final, having been an unused substitute in the 2022 defeat to Real Madrid.Liverpool could find themselves without that quartet come next summer, too, with all four players set to be out of contract at Anfield in 2027.The Reds may have reached three finals in five years under Jurgen Klopp, but an unprecedented level of turnover in recent seasons means the changing of the guard is now almost complete.And with last season’s quarter-final defeat representing Liverpool’s furthest run in Europe since that 2022 final, it is clear the new generation are going to have to learn on the job — and learn fast.That was evident as the Reds opened their latest European campaign with a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid.Rio Ngumoha was handed his first Champions League start, while Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas all made their debuts in the competition.The lack of experience and depth was even more conspicuous when looking towards the substitutes’ bench.Tsimikas, Munoz, Ryan Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili and third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman were the most senior players held in reserve among an 11-man bench.Alongside them sat academy graduates Koumas, Trey Nyoni, Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Luke Chambers.Between them, the latter group had just six Champions League appearances prior to kick-off, with Nyoni having been used as a substitute four times and Danns and McConnell each starting once — in a dead rubber against PSV Eindhoven in January 2025.Of course, Liverpool’s lack of depth cannot be viewed in isolation from their current injury problems.Cody Gakpo was absent with an abductor issue, while Gomez was not yet ready to return despite resuming training. Giovanni Leoni is not expected back in team training until after the next international break following his ACL injury, while Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley are also long-term absentees.Federico Chiesa is currently sidelined, too, although he would have been ineligible for Champions League action regardless, having not been included in Liverpool’s European squad alongside Wataru Endo.But even with those absentees taken into account, there is hardly an abundance of proven talent waiting in the wings for an imminent return.There is no cavalry waiting to arrive.And that may prove to be one of Liverpool’s biggest challenges in Europe this season.
