Following Liverpool’s Round of 16 Champions League exit to Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp stated that out of the remaining season, three games could ‘define’ how they finish the season. After a 5-2 humbling in the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool travelled to Santiago Bernabeu for the return leg on March 15. The Reds created a number of chances but were unable to finish them off. The Los Blancos, too, missed numerous chances before the game-winning goal came through Karim Benzema in the 78th.
As a result, Jurgen Klopp’s side got dumped out of the Champions League and are now almost certain to go trophyless this season. The European cup was their last hope of a silverware arriving at Anfield, but now a top-four finish for the Reds will be as good as a trophy itself. They currently sit sixth in the Premier League, six points adrift of fourth-place Tottenham who have played a game more than the Reds.
Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal will define season – Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool, last season’s Champions League finalists, have now been eliminated from all three cup competitions this season and find themselves in a difficult position in the Premier League as well. The Reds are not the bookies’ favourites to finish inside the top fur and will need a strong finish to the season to secure Champions League football for next season.
In a post-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp admitted that Liverpool were not in a strong position this season and that three Premier League games could define their season. The Merseyside club next faces trips to the Etihad and the Stamford Bridge to take on Manchester City and Chelsea respectively, followed immediately by a showdown against current league leaders Arsenal at home. Speaking of the three games, Klopp said:
“It (the Champions League) is the competition and we want to be part of it every year. That’s a massive task for us, we all know that. When we come back from the international break we have a proper football week ahead of us, I would say, with three games: (Manchester) City, Chelsea and Arsenal, which will then probably define what we get out of it.
“People might say we lost it in Bournemouth, but I think this week is a pretty decisive one, so we have to hope now the boys come back healthy, early enough, in the right shape and then we will try it. Our job is to squeeze absolutely everything out of this season what is possible. It’s a strange one. Our recent two games, obviously a sensational performance against Manchester United, which is a real good football team.
“And then a really bad performance against Bournemouth, which is a good football team as well, but we should not lose this kind of game. There is again distance because other teams won their games… it is clear, we want to be top four, but if we can do that, we will decide on the pitch [and] not here in the press conference.”
Liverpool will now directly see action on April 1, when they take on their rivals City in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp has exactly two weeks to revisit his plans for the remainder of the season since there will certainly be a lot of changes to it. With only 12 games to go in the Premier League for the Reds, with half of them falling against European aspirants, Jurgen Klopp’s men will have to buck-up if they are to feature in the next season’s Champions League.