Jurgen Klopp has revealed his frustrations after Saturday's 1-1 draw left Liverpool's chances of Champions League qualification seemingly over.
Roberto Firmino's last-minute equaliser on his final home appearance for the club leaves a place in the top four mathematically possible, albeit extremely unlikely. Liverpool must now hope that both Manchester United and Newcastle United lose both their remaining matches and for the Reds to win their last fixture away at already relegated Southampton.
Such a set of circumstances has a limited chance of coming to fruition, leaving Liverpool with the likelihood of playing Europa League football next season. For the first time since 2015/16 Liverpool have failed to finish in the top four, with a disappointing season to follow their attempts to win the quadruple last season.
After the match, Klopp explained how he was 'frustrated' with the result, explaining how he felt his team's recent challenge for the top four has brought some excitement in a tough season. At the start of April, Klopp's men were 12 points behind the top four, with seven successive wins before this weekend providing late hope of qualification.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Klopp said: "Frustrating wherever you sit. We made it a proper fight - chasing the Champions League in general. They got more points. We would have loved to have made it exciting for another week but we couldn't do that.
"I asked the boys after the game, who was really, really good today? It was difficult to find one. But the character we showed was good. Aston Villa were screwed in the second half and they didn't know how to deal with it."
When Klopp took over in 2015, The Reds were in the Europa League, with his first season culminating in a final defeat against Sevilla. Since then, Klopp has reached three finals in Europe's premier club competition, winning the tournament in 2019, however, after the match the German manager was not negative about the prospect of Europa League football.
He added: "We will make it [the Europa League] our competition. I am not that spoilt. That we are already qualified for the Europa League is incredible with all these teams around us. That's really difficult and we did it, that is good. For so long we couldn't even hear the sound of the Champions League, that's how far away we were. The Europe League us absolutely fine. Let's see what we can do."
Liverpool will expect a summer overhaul, with Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain all leaving the club upon the expiry of their contracts. This could begin with the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton, who Mirror Football revealed is expected to join Liverpool in a £70 million deal.
