Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool Football Club, has stated that their chances of finishing in the top four are over if they repeat their performance against Manchester City. The Reds were soundly beaten 4-1 by City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, leaving them in eighth place in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur after 27 games played.
Klopp has acknowledged that the top four is now out of their hands. However, he has urged fans not to worry about their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League after such a heavy defeat. He believes that Liverpool’s weaknesses were badly exposed by City and that their defence could not handle City’s quality going forward, while their midfield was chasing shadows throughout the afternoon.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Klopp said: “Ooft. Top four? Come on. We cannot. I am a big believer that if you are good, you should win football games. If you play well, that is when I get angry, and you don’t win, decisions go against you, blah blah blah… But today, how can you win a football game like this when you play 45 minutes okay and the other 45 minutes really bad? You can’t win a football game. So, nothing to do with top four hopes. We have to make sure we have some consistency.”
Liverpool took the lead through Mohamed Salah after 17 minutes with a devastating counter-attack. However, City soon took control of the match, dominating possession and cutting through Liverpool’s midfield with ease. Julian Alvarez finished off a fine move to equalise before Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan scored quickfire goals after the break. Jack Grealish capped off a man-of-the-match performance with a goal of his own to make it a sorry afternoon for Liverpool.
Klopp added: “Very frustrating. What can I say? I wouldn’t say the first-half was outstanding, but a game we have seen here before against City. City has more dominance, City has more of the ball, but we are super aggressive and super difficult to defend counter-attacking moments. Maybe keep the ball then we control the game from our side. It is difficult for City to defend that then we have good spells with the ball.”
This defeat marks Liverpool’s worst start to a gruelling week that will also include a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea before hosting Arsenal on Easter Sunday. With Klopp’s side already out of the Champions League, finishing in the top four is the club’s only aim this season, and it would be no exaggeration to say that this week could define the rest of the campaign.