Next season, Liverpool will play Champions League football under Arne Slot. Jürgen Klopp was eager to wrap things up as soon as the Premier League championship was gone.
Jürgen Klopp’s tenure at Liverpool will not finish in the best possible way. There will be no recurrence of the torturous seasons past against Wolves on the last day of the campaign, with hopes shattered for a Manchester City slip-up.
This time, Liverpool has gone out of contention for the greatest prize with a few games remaining. A draw against Manchester United followed by a home defeat to Crystal Palace was simply not enough, and the goals dried up at the worst possible time.
Any concerns that Liverpool would fall out of the top four, despite the fact that this was never likely, have been promptly dispelled. Even if the Premier League clubs’ results in Europe are insufficient to secure fifth place via the UEFA coefficient, the Reds will remain comfortably within the top four no matter what happens next.
“No positive thoughts at all. Extremely dissatisfied and frustrated. During his post-match press conference at Goodison Park, Klopp admitted that it was not good enough. “It wasn’t the greatest inspired performance of all time, but I truly felt for the audience. We’ve never lost here (this was Everton’s first Goodison Derby victory in over 14 years), and it feels very different. I really apologize for it.
The Liverpool manager went on to express his wish for the team to continue fighting. Only a shocking collapse could have resulted in the Reds falling out of the top four, although it was still feasible at the moment.
“We need a crisis at Man City and Arsenal and need to win football games because if they start losing all their games and we do what we did tonight nothing changes,” he said. “We are not safe in the Champions League either, so we simply need to play better football.
“The issue is not one of attitude or what the boys want. Nobody is doing that on purpose. It is my responsibility to put them in situations where they feel confident enough to do so. That aspect is my responsibility, and I am accountable for what happened tonight.”
After Arsenal defeated Tottenham in the north London derby, Liverpool’s return to the Champions League is practically official. Technically, Klopp’s side needs one more point, which might come against Tottenham at Anfield next weekend, but they have a significantly higher goal difference.
If Liverpool loses its final three games of the season and Spurs wins all of theirs, Ange Postecoglou’s side would have to overcome a 26-goal deficit. The Premier League crown may have eluded Liverpool in a disappointing manner, but the season-long goal of returning to UEFA’s top tournament is nearly complete.
