Changing face of the English game: the pace and effectiveness of Sterling, left, epitomises the way that Liverpool have upped their performance while United and Valencia have fallen away markedly Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

This time last year Brendan Rodgers was struggling to explain a 2-0 defeat at home by West Bromwich Albion that left Liverpool ninth in the Barclays Premier League, 29 points behind Manchester United. “There might not be any trophies to show for this season and we might not finish in the top four,” he said, “but we have taken strides”.

A few days later Liverpool lost 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of a Europa League tie, their fifth match without victory in a sequence that began with an embarrassing FA Cup fourth-round defeat by Oldham Athletic. “It’s not over by any means,” Rodgers said at a time when his public pronouncements, combining folksy philosophy with what seemed like unrelenting, misplaced optimism,…