Liverpool set for 'really crazy' experience as Klopp's EPL master plan aligns

Liverpool's wait for a Premier League title is almost over: win four more times and they will be confirmed as league champions for the first time since 1990.

It is now, quite simply, a matter of when, not if, despite the set-back at Vicarage Road against Watford on Saturday evening.

Ronny Rosenthal scored a late winner at Anfield against Everton in 1993, set up the goal that saw Ian Rush overtake Roger Hunt as Liverpool's record goalscorer, and established himself as a cult-hero on Merseyside, but perhaps the thing he should be most remembered for during his time at Anfield is the huge part he played in the last Liverpool squad to have won a league title.

And he spoke exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO for a special Blood Red podcast as the Reds edge closer to adding their names to Anfield folklore, just a year on from winning a sixth Champions League trophy in Madrid.

Rosenthal scored seven goals in five starts during his loan spell with the Reds at the back end of the 1989/90 campaign, including netting six in the last four matches of the season, making him a fundamental part of the last title-winning Reds team.

He explained: "I came as an unknown player from Standard Liege in 1990 and I was so happy to make an impact.

"More importantly to win the league with Liverpool, that was a fantastic achievement.

"It was unbelievable when I made an impact on loan and then we won the league, but I still enjoyed it after that, even when I played less than what I wanted.

"I have very good memories from there."

Rosenthal was managed first by Sir Kenny Dalglish and then Graeme Souness in the early 1990s, and played alongside the likes of Jan Molby, John Barnes, Ian Rush and Steve McManaman.

As well as scoring the goals that fired the Reds towards the league title, two key moments in his near four-year spell with the Reds stand out: his perfect hat-trick that was scored on his first Liverpool start, and his last-minute winner in the Merseyside derby of 1993.

"Of course, to win the derby and score a goal in the last minute is fantastic but for me the most important moment was my full debut when I scored a hat-trick against Charlton," he outlines.

"We had a bad run and Kenny Dalglish told me just one hour before that I was starting. I was not involved in the two games before.

"I was surprised but I took this opportunity with both hands and I scored and then I was a regular until the end of the season.

"I have only fantastic memories. To enter the pitch and have the support from a fantastic crowd who will go with you anywhere even if you are not playing so well is fantastic - that's Liverpool fans, for sure."

Now a football consultant, a role that he describes as scouting players and recommending them to clubs across Europe, Rosenthal scored 22 times for the Reds in 97 appearances.

One of Rosenthal's sons, Dean, was born in Liverpool during that time too.

Winning the league was one of the highlights for the forward, not least because of the influence he had on the result, though the celebrations will be much louder this time, for one simple reason.

Rosenthal explained: "When you win it for the first time, the joy is really crazy.

"It was natural for people when we won the league and that's what you want - you want to come to a winning team.

"I'm sure this year's celebration will be unbelieveable.

"You could see these standards two years ago - it's not luck. The recruitment of top players and combining Jurgen Klopp as the manager, that helps.

"It will be a fantastic achievement because Liverpool did not win it for 30 years. There are a lot of people who did not see Liverpool winning the league - more than a generation."

The Champions League might not be out of reach either, as the Reds look to retain their crown, with the ex-Red expecting his former side to go far despite a first-leg setback in Madrid.

He said: "On paper, Liverpool are stronger than Atletico Madrid but I still think they can get through.

"They have got the quality but sometimes there are things that are unexpected.

"You concede a goal by a deflection, or all sorts of scrambles in the box, but if there is no accident, they can win the game and go to the final."

Rosenthal was the first non-UK born player to move to an English team for a fee of more than £1 million, so he knows how it feels to come into a side with plenty of expectation placed on your shoulders, and an enormous amount of pressure to succeed.

He says, though, that much like the Liverpool stars of today, dealing with that pressure was not something he had much trouble with.

"It's more the media [who put players under pressure]," he explained.

"You can see the way that Van Dijk is playing, he has this composure. But everyone is different.

"When you have this ability, you do the business on the pitch and you don't think about other things."

Rosenthal also played for Tottenham, Watford, Club Brugge and many more, as well as representing his country, Israel, 60 times.

He won one league title and one FA Cup (in 1992) with Liverpool, but expects the team under Klopp to eclipse that.

He added: "It's very difficult to say if they are going to win the league also next season but they certainly will challenge for it.

"When you see the players, they have this balance and they have all the qualities in attack, midfield and defence.

"If they can keep this - and it's not an old team, they are in their peak time - they can do this for another three or four years.

"It's very difficult to compare [the previous title-winning side to the current one] - football today is totally different.

"30 years ago, Liverpool used to buy the best talent in England, but once the Premier League was started in 1992, more foreign players starting coming.

"It was up to scouting and Liverpool did not bring any more the best players.

"People ask me who would win between the Liverpool of 1990 and the Liverpool today, and obviously today's would because they are much better athletes."

Certainly the current crop are impressing, and it seems the wait for a league title is almost over.

Rosenthal was a crucial part of the last Liverpool squad to be English league champions - but he won't be able to say that for much longer.