When the bookies were offering odds of 500/1 on Liverpool to do a cup quadruple at the start of the season, few could have predicted that the Merseyside club's hopes of achieving such a feat would still be alive and kicking come the end of April.
But with the Carabao Cup won, a place in the FA Cup final secured, a 2-0 advantage in the Champions League semi-final, and just a point to make up on Premier League leaders Manchester City, that is exactly where the Reds find themselves today in what has turned into a quite remarkable season.
But despite the wave of optimism that currently engulfs the club and its supporters, former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman believes that winning all four trophies is a bridge too far.
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Writing in his column for Horseracing.net, he said: "It’s nigh on impossible for Liverpool to win the quadruple. What they’ve done already is impressive, it’s already an incredible season for what they’ve achieved, after everything that’s gone on in the past. But for the quadruple, it’s impossible. You need so much to go your way. You don’t just need a load of good footballers, because we’ve seen that in the past with Manchester City, you need a lot of luck at times. You need the ball to bounce your way. You need decisions to go your way. So I just think it’s very, very hard to do.
"Liverpool aren’t the favourites for the Champions League, Manchester City are, and have been since the start of the season. Manchester City are also favourites for the Premier League. So you just have to take all the quadruple talk with a pinch of salt. It is stupid to say after we’ve got one trophy, we’ve got to the final and let’s go again. The Champions League quarter-final was over by the first leg. You knew they were going to go through - that’s no disrespect to Benfica, just Liverpool weren’t going to lose by two goals at Anfield!
"The FA Cup final against Chelsea is going to be really, really difficult, judging by the Carabao Cup final. Chelsea were arguably the better team and they cancelled each other out. You get to penalties and it’s hit and miss. That could easily happen in the FA Cup, and it could go against you. You just enjoy it for the ride at the minute. What the fans are seeing at the moment is incredible. There’s a lot to be thankful for at the moment if you’re a Liverpool fan; a real feel-good factor.
"If they win the Premier League or the Champions League and they win the double, then they’ll be very happy with that. They could win the FA Cup as well but it’s a toss of a coin against Chelsea. If you can win one of the big ones, and by big ones I mean the Premier League and Champions League, then if you could do a double like that, then you’d be absolutely ecstatic."
