Despite being cruelly denied a first title in 24 years when for so long it seemed like the Premier League trophy was destined to be heading for Anfield, last season was still a roaring success for Liverpool.

The Reds’ only requirement was to qualify for the Champions League – which they managed with three games to spare – and while missing out on a majestic return to their perch was a crushing disappointment given how close they had come to being crowned champions, Liverpool could still look forward to a long-awaited return to Europe’s elite club competition after five years in the wilderness.

Of course, Reds fans had every reason to be excited. The club prides itself on its European pedigree, and for the vast majority of supporters, memories of Istanbul – where they won their fifth European title in 2005 – are still joyously fresh.

Since the golden years of the 1970s and 1980s, Liverpool have had an obsession with the competition. The domestic title has proved elusive for nearly a quarter of a century, which means that the definition of success for the Reds is dependent entirely on whether or not they are in Europe.

In the period between 2009 and 2014 – when Liverpool were absent from the Champions League – the club won the League Cup and reached both the FA Cup final and the semi-finals of the Europa League. Not bad for a team which was going through some of its most troubling times, but the fact that the dark cloud engulfing Anfield only really dissipated last season with qualification to the Champions League – which, it must be remembered, came during an ultimately trophyless campaign for the Reds – shows that dreams of Europe on Merseyside still rule.

And yet, much has changed in the Champions League since 2009.

The days when the old Big Four of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal would consistently reach the latter stages of the tournament are over. Since its zenith in the mid-2000s, the Premier League has been in rapid decline as the Spanish La Liga and the German Bundesliga have emerged as the strongest leagues in world football in terms of quality. Chelsea are now the only English team capable of progressing far into the competition, and even then, they are still considered underdogs compared to the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

This sobering reality has hit Liverpool hard this season. Their back-to-back deafeats against Real Madrid in the group stage highlights the contrasting recent fortunes of both clubs.

Just five years ago, a relatively weak Reds side thrashed the Spanish giants 5-0 on aggregate to progess to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In the present day, Real are the most dominant side on the planet, having won their tenth European title in May, while Liverpool are battling it out with FC Basle and Ludogorets Razgrad to even make it out of the group.

Their difficulties in Europe are also having an adverse effect on their domestic campaign as the Reds have already lost five league games, one fewer than they managed during the whole of last season. This raises a difficult question that many Liverpool fans are likely to have asked themselves already: why even bother with the Champions League?

Many attributed the Reds’ unexpected title charge last year to their lack of European football, which gave Brendan Rodgers’ side more time to rest and prepare for league matches than their rivals competing on the continent. However, now that Liverpool have qualified for Europe, they seem to have no chance of winning neither the Premier League nor the Champions League.

Surely sacrificing one for the sake of having a shot at success in the other makes sense, and given that the Champions League contains a greater amount of superior sides than the Premier League, should the latter not be a priority for the Reds?

Liverpool may yet qualify from their group and improve on their dismal start to the season, but already it is beginning to look like a case of the grass being greener for the Anfield club. For the executives, board members, chairmen and owners of European football’s top sides, qualification to the financially lucrative Champions League will always remain a top priority. But for the fans who demand actual, tangible, trophy-shaped success above all else, it is hard to see the appeal of the competition if a select number of teams are the only one realistically capable of winning it.

The Reds have a talented, ambitious manager who may one day build a squad which is strong enough to emerge as serious competitors for Europe’s ultimate prize. However, that day is a long way off.

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