Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes Jurgen Klopp’s men will be less motivated for the Champions League final if they fail to win the FA Cup or Premier League.
Johnson played for the Reds between 2009 and 2015 and made 200 appearances after his £18m move from Portsmouth. Liverpool face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, are three points behind Manchester City in the league and travel to Paris to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. They already have one trophy secured after their Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea.
To still be in with a shout of an unprecedented quadruple is testament to the superb work of Klopp and his team. However, Johnson wasn’t confident in their chances and was worried a loss at Wembley or a second placed finish could have damaging effects for the Reds.
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“If they miss out on both the Premier League and FA Cup then of course it will demotivate them [for the Champions League final] and they might start to pile more pressure on themselves,” Johnson told Lord Ping.
“Of course, momentum in football is underestimated and I think if they keep winning and keep the morale high, I expect them to go into the game a lot calmer. If they lose the other finals or both of them, they may go into the Champions League final a bit more nervous. Technically right now the quadruple is possible but no, I can't imagine they'll do it. It's so tough.”
Johnson, who won the Carabao Cup with Liverpool in the 2011/12 season, was full of praise for the Reds but appreciated the huge task in continuing to challenge on all fronts. He said: “To perform at that level in every competition is going to be so hard, especially when you have to pull back this Man City team in the league. I hope they can do it, it's still possible but I think Liverpool will fall short in one of the competitions."
“It's tough because I just can't see Man City losing. This Man City team is just relentless, even with Wolves showing a bit of a glimpse on Wednesday night and similarly to Liverpool, they just always just seem to find a way to win so I don't expect Man City to drop any points, let alone three.”
