Following his team’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp effectively conceded defeat in the battle for a Champions League spot, saying they are not too spoiled to enjoy the Europa League next year.
Liverpool needs to win their final match at Southampton and hope that neither Manchester United nor Newcastle United earn a point in their remaining two games after dropping two points at Anfield.
In his words to BBC Sport, Klopp, “We will make it [the Europa League] our competition.”. I’m not all that spoiled. With all these teams around us, it’s amazing that we have already earned a spot in the Europa League. It’s good that we were able to accomplish something so difficult.
Because of how far away we were, we were unable to hear the Champions League for a very long time. The Europe League is doing great. See what we can accomplish. “.
Villa was able to control the game for the majority of it after Jacob Ramsey gave them the lead in the first half.
Brazilian Roberto Firmino, who was making his final home appearance for Liverpool after eight seasons filled with trophies, came off the bench to score a thrilling equalizer in the 89th minute, setting off a wild celebration from the Anfield crowd.
Klopp expressed satisfaction with the outcome given where his team was a few weeks ago, despite Liverpool failing to score an even more dramatic late winner.
At a press conference, Klopp said, “It’s a draw and that’s OK, that’s OK.
Following a draw with Aston Villa, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp watches as his team’s chances of making the Champions League virtually vanish.
For a large portion of the season, he continued, Liverpool appeared to be doomed to the Europa League rather than the Champions League. However, his team had won seven straight games when they arrived at Anfield on Saturday, making a late push for the top four.
In summarizing the season, the German manager said, “We were too long not good enough ourselves.”. “And I believe we kept it pretty exciting. Seven weeks ago, I didn’t think it was possible. The boys performed admirably during that time.
“I believe that people liked it as well; you can tell by their lack of anger toward us today. Both the upcoming Premier League and European league seasons are anticipated by them. So do I. “.
It was an emotional afternoon for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as Firmino, Naby Keita, James Milner, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all leaving when their contracts expire. Klopp also said he will miss their contributions both on and off the field.
He said, “I know the kids, I’ve known them all since they were babies.
For [Milner], the same.
What we will miss was evident right away from the two boys who joined us.
It’s Millie’s mindset, I guess. He once again played really good football here, but I don’t like the way he comes in. Given how many games he won for us in this manner, it will be extremely difficult for whoever does that for us in the upcoming years to meet that standard.
“This day was challenging for us. It’s difficult to prepare a little bit, but there are no justifications because we all adore these four boys. The first half wasn’t great, though, because there was also a very significant game going on at the same time. “.
While serving the first of a two-game suspension for criticizing the officials, Klopp was forced to watch the drama of the afternoon from the stands.
