Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp was brought to Liverpool because of his reputation and history of success. At his former club, Borussia Dortmund, he had taken a team that had known failure for a long, long time and turned them into a title winner and Champions League finalist. Outside of his ability to build a team and teach it his tactical philosophy, he was known for his power of charisma. He knows how to say the right thing in the right way in order to get a reaction from people. 

On June 28, 2012, Mario Balotelli peaked. His thunderous second goal in the first 40 minutes of Italy’s Euro 2012 semi-final clash with Germany highlighted a stupendous tournament for the mercurial striker. Named in the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament and finishing the joint top scorer, Balotelli’s summer exploits concluded a maniacal season for the Italian.

Joe Allen. Von Miller. Two men with seemingly nothing in common aside from being professional athletes. Two men who share a rare hobby: chickens.

Joe Allen on the front of Chicken & Egg magazine. Fair play. pic.twitter.com/ggbaBfs2Bo

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) March 22, 2016

There are a lot of people who like Daniel Sturridge. There are a lot of people who dislike Daniel Sturridge. There is one young Southampton fan who really dislikes Daniel Sturridge. Here he is during Sturridge's celebration after the Liverpool striker made it 2-0 against the Saints.

Young Southampton fan isn't impressed by Daniel Sturridge's goal pic.twitter.com/94JCMfSk9n

Sunday's Capital One Cup final — Manchester City vs. Liverpool — won the day because, not only was it a great game soccer-wise, it gave us a phenomenal array of subplots. Let's run them down real quick:

Manchester City vs. Liverpool Subplots

The Yolo Derby

Brendan Rodgers proposed to his girlfriend in Times Square. She said yes. This is undeniably happy news for the former Liverpool boss, but it closes the book on one of the greatest Premier League romances of all time: Brendan Rodgers and Joe Allen.

Congratulations to Brendan Rodgers who proposed today in public pic.twitter.com/gFwXTRQt67

— Indigo (@IndigoLFC) February 23, 2016

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is one of the happiest dudes in the Premier League. We offer as evidence this video of Sakho zooming around Paris on a motorbike talking to himself in French. He spies former PSG and current France international teammate Blaise Matuidi standing by a car and just has to pull over and say hello.

Mamadou Sakho casually bumps into a surprised Blaise Matuidi in the streets of Paris on his motorbike. pic.twitter.com/0k2uD176mi

Kolo Toure scored the goal of the year in the Premier League. We couldn't believe it either, which is precisely why it's the goal of the year.

Now, remember that we said it's the "goal of the year" not the "best goal of the year." By "goal of the year," we mean the goal that most exemplifies the year in the Premier League. You can look at it a number of ways.

Much commotion surrounded the walking out of Liverpool fans in the 77th minute of Liverpool's home match against Sunderland. The walkout protested ticket prices, which have risen to 77 pounds in some main stand seats (hence the timing of the walkout). Borussia Dortmund fans are a lot like Liverpool fans in that they care deeply about their club and also ticket prices (they are also intimately familiar with Jurgen Klopp).

Borussia Dortmund fans planned their own protest of their club's rising ticket prices, but Dortmund's was a little more comical than Liverpool's.