Liverpool still have a good chance of winning the Premier League title if they take maximum points from their six remaining games, believes Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool have relinquished control of the title race by taking just one point from their last two games, playing out a 2-2 draw with Manchester United then losing 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace.
They also fell to a demoralising Europa League quarter-final exit on Thursday, failing to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit at Atalanta as Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the second leg.
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With Manchester City not in Premier League action this weekend due to their involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals, Liverpool and Arsenal – both of whom are two points adrift of the champions – have a chance to hit back.
However, Klopp knows it will take something approaching perfection to deny Pep Guardiola’s side, saying: “It’s obviously not in our hands, it’s not about that.
“I think if we could win all our games, yeah, there’s a good chance that we will be champions. If not, then it’s a good chance somebody else is there.
“Maybe we only have to win five or whatever, but nobody knows. Who would have thought that Arsenal would lose against Aston Villa?
“If you are a football person, you think, ‘Aston Villa, wow’. We have to go there still, so that’s not one of my favourite away games, but it happens.
“Now we all sit here and think, ‘City will win all their games.’ Yeah, that’s happened quite frequently, but they have a lot of games to play, difficult opponents as well. We don’t think about them.”
Jürgen Klopp previews our trip to Fulham and the remaining fixtures of the Premier League season 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/pSN1Dvjv59
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 19, 2024
Klopp’s men have twice finished as runners-up to City by a single point, missing out on the title despite amassing 97 points in 2018-19 and 92 points in 2021-22.
The Liverpool boss is not sure those experiences will have any bearing on this season’s finale, saying his focus is simply on bouncing back from a disappointing week.
“When we were in a position to, we didn’t win the league in the end. That’s how it is,” Klopp said. “We lost by a point, so what kind of experience is that – we know how to get there?
“It’s good to know that you are good, that you can cause other teams problems, but the thing is clear: if you want to be champions in the Premier League, you have to be close to perfection.
“If we are not perfect, you have to deal with the setbacks in the best possible way, and that’s what we are now doing.
“We had a setback week, if you want, with three games we didn’t like too much, and now we have to start turning it around.”
Next up, we head to the capital ⏩ #FULLIV @UPS | #ad pic.twitter.com/WAhD57iCji
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 19, 2024
