Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp remains positive about their place in the title race and still believes if they win all remaining six matches they will be Premier League champions again. (More Football News)
A difficult run of results – starting with a draw at Manchester United and followed by home defeats to Atalanta and Cryst⭕al Palace – ended with a 1-0 Europa League victory in Bergamo but that could not prevent their exit from the Europa League 3-1 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage.
A first clean sheet in 10 matches was a boost to confidence, especially as they continue to struggle to find their best form at the other end of the pitch, and Klopp thinks the two-point gap to leaders Manchester City can be overhauled with a perfect run in.
“It’s not ob💟viously in our hands, it is not about that,𝓀” said Klopp.
“I think if we would win all our games there is a good chance we will be champion. If not theꩲre is a good chance someone else will be champ𒊎ion.
“Maybe we only have to win five, but nobody knows. Who would have thought that Arsenal lose against Aston ⛄Villa?
“We all sit here and think ‘OK, yeah. City will win all their game🅺s’ and that’s happened quite frequently, but they have a lot of games to play and difficult opponents as𒅌 well.
“W💞e don’t think about that. We don’t think about them. It is just how can we make sure we start wining gam🤡es again.”
Over the c💮ourse of their recent rivalry, Liverpool have♔ had a couple of seasons where the race to the line with City has seen them miss out by just a point despite matching each other win-for-win for the majority of the run in.
But Klopp said that experience was not necessarily as🤡 positive asꦅ onlookers may believe.
“When we were in the position we didn’t win the lea🦹gue in the end. We lost by a point and stuff like that. What kind of experience is that?” he added.
“We k🌳now how to get there – and then don’t (win). It’s not about that.
“It’s good to know that you 🌺are good and you can 🌜cause other teams problems.
“But the thing is clear: if you want to be champion in the Premier League you have to be close to perfect and if you are not perfect you have to deal with the setbacks in the best possible 🤡way or in a perfect way.
“That is what we are now doi🥀ng. We had a setback we🐟ek with three games we didn’t like too much, the results especially, and now we have to start turning it around.”
Key to turning things around will be a change in fortunes in front of goa🅷l.
Three goals in their last four match🧔es has stalled their progress with the forwards failing to take numerous opportunities they have created.
Mohamed Salah, whom Klopp defended after he missed a key chance to make it 2-0 against Atalanta, 🐽has scored six – two of which were penalties – in 11 matches since returning from two months out with a hamstring injury.
Luis Diaz hꩵas two in eight games, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have just one in their last seven, while Diogo Jota has yet to find the net in three appearances since returning injury.
“We had good moments and had an awful lot of chances, and didn’t useඣ one of them mo💎re of less,” said Klopp.
“That’s not great but the worst thing in football is not to have chances. It is better you deal ✤with chances you miss than you have no chances.
“That’s why I’m absolutely positive and after processing things properly, yeah, I’m more than ha🌸ppyꩲ with the situation.”
