Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp looked gloomy on Friday after confirmation the club could not finish in the Premier League’s top four, but said he was optimistic for next season. Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League ended when Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday. the Champions League for the first time under Klopp, since his first full season in 2016-17.
The German coach said he was ‘very critical of himself’ after the side struggled to meet the standards they set last season, despite a late resurgence which saw him recover. qualify for the Europa League. “This season has not been good from a historical point of view. We made mistakes and we weren’t consistent enough,” Klopp told reporters ahead of the last game of the season in Southampton. “After Dubai, since we were on training camp after the World Cup, everything It wasn’t perfect, but the number of points we’ve accumulated since then is pretty good. If we could have done this all season, we would be in a different situation. So there is reason to be optimistic… The atmosphere our team created in the last home game, the way the club said goodbye to the departing players… all of this forms the basis for ‘a fantastic future.’
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah said he was devastated after the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and, although Klopp agreed with his Egyptian striker, he said the team were still united “The dressing room is not in a bad mood, we have learned to manage the situation,” Klopp said. We weren’t split between the manager and the team which is very helpful, we weren’t singled out, everything is fine. If you don’t qualify for the Champions League, the best possible place is fifth, and that’s what we did.” Liverpool will need to strengthen their squad with the departure of key figures such as Roberto Firmino and James Milner at the end of the season.
