that's when his season ender was diagnosed, but Matip did get injured in December 2020. A muscle injury, having already started the season with a muscle injury and being leaned on for increased minutes in spite of this (something Klopp was evidently conscious of, as he made public the next season that the club had taken risks leaning on him too much from the start of that season).
So again, it's valid to say the writing was on the wall in when Matip got his groin injury at the end of December and useful context to why Klopp was clearly and even visibly desperate for support that January (as were Robertson and Van Dijk) that wasn't forthcoming from the money men.
Ahh that refreshes my mind on Matip. Knew he was struggling (came off twice) and having checked we did play Fabinho and Rhys Williams vs Spurs and Fabinho and Nat Phillips vs Newcastle in December (latter game was the last). Even it Matip had been fit and not breaking down with his issue, we needed two CB in on 1 January as you dont go through a season with just 2. For almost have a season we had none.
We then started the new year top of the table at Southampton on 4th January, so a day or two after Jurgen's press conference that a new CB was "unlikely" to a stunned press room, with the CB pairing of Fabinho and Hendo, so an empty midfield and a makeshift backline, and lost 1-0, and that's when the freefall commenced.
Given Andy Robertson's hopeful comment in late December about help coming in, and that not coming in, that would undoubtedly have demoralised the players. It certainly showed in the results. What they achieved in getting us top was remarkable. Unfortunately we have the owners we do.
As much as I adore Jurgen, the annoyance from my perspective, on behalf of him and his reputation, is he took hits that he had no right to take. He was extremely coy during that first press conference, and three weeks later, after a few defeats and growing frustration, only opened up more about restrictions. On one hand it's a positive by just getting on with it, by making do, but it also impacts his reputation when results under such circumstances go against us.
Had he been backed and been able to bring two CB in through the door on 1 January, like any competent club who backs the manager, the likelihood of us winning the league was high as that midfied we had was a machine (the run we went on (with two lower league standard CB in Phillips and Williams) is testament to how good it was). Unfortunately the current owners guaranteed we wouldn't win the league.