FILE – Liverpool’s German manager Jurgen Klopp gestures from the sidelines during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on April 14, 2021. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his side has nothing to lose in the remainder of the Premier League season following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United and must become an “angry” team again in the home stretch to rediscover form.
Champions Liverpool opened the scoring at Anfield inside three minutes through Mohamed Salah but Newcastle substitute Joe Willock equalized in the dying seconds of stoppage time to frustrate the hosts.
The result left Liverpool in sixth with 54 points from 33 games and dealt a blow to their Champions League qualification hopes, with Klopp saying they did not deserve to be in Europe’s elite club competition on current form.
The German backed his injury-plagued team to hit top gear again when their first choice defenders including Virgil van Dijk return and supporters are back in the stands but said immediate solutions were needed.
“It’s like every player in the world needs momentum and positive feedback from himself and in certain situations, but the long-term solutions are fine,” Klopp told reporters.
“The short-term solutions we have to work on. It’s not too simplistic to say that (having fans and injured players back will fix problems), I know because when the season is over and some defenders come back we’ll all of a sudden play again.
“But we have to become a very tricky team to play against, an angry team in a positive way… and we’ll become that again. We now have the chance, definitely nothing to lose anymore, it’s like this because now we’re in the situation.”
Liverpool next visits second-placed Manchester United in the league on May 2.