“This season, if we don’t do something really special, will be remembered for the 7-0 against United.”
While Liverpool might have started to revive their Premier League fortunes in recent weeks, putting together a five-game unbeaten run to bolster their hopes of European qualification, the campaign remains a disappointing one for the Reds.
Having nearly won an unprecedented quadruple last year, Jurgen Klopp’s men have known since their emphatic Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in March that they would finish the season without winning any new major silverware. Meanwhile, despite Liverpool’s league position looking healthier than it did a few weeks ago, a top-four finish still looks rather unlikely.
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As a result, unless the Reds ‘do something really special’, Klopp is well-aware that there will be no debate regarding what is considered his side’s highlight of the season.
“I hope when people speak about it in a few years they will look back on it and [say], ‘I was here when we beat Man United 7-0!’” he told reporters in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
“And that they could say something nice on top of that. ‘And after that we qualified still’, for whatever. That will be nice, but if not then we have to take that as well.”
While such sound-bites suggest Klopp hasn’t quite given up on a top-four finish just yet, with six games of their season left to play Liverpool look far more likely to be competing in next year’s Europa League.
Following the latest round of Premier League fixtures, the Reds sit seventh in the table, a point behind fifth-placed Aston Villa and sixth-placed Tottenham. With both still having to travel to Anfield, it is in Liverpool’s own hands to finish above both.
Yet they are seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, having played a game more, and nine points off third-placed Newcastle United. As a result, they need either side to suffer significant slip-ups in the weeks ahead to fully open the door.
The Magpies host relegation-threatened Southampton and league leaders Arsenal in their next two matches, before travelling to struggling Leeds United. Back-to-back home clashes with European-chasing Brighton & Hove Albion and relegation-threatened Leicester City then follow, before they finish the season away at Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Man United host Villa before away trips to Brighton and West Ham United in their next three games. They then host Wolves and visit Bournemouth, before finishing the league season with back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Fulham, prior to an FA Cup final clash with fierce rivals Man City.
Considering the range of sides involved, from title and European hopefuls to teams in the relegation battle, Liverpool’s hopes of either side slipping up enough for them to take advantage remain very much up in the air.
However, with Newcastle winning seven of their last eight league matches, including a 5-1 dismantling of West Ham, 6-1 thrashing of Tottenham and emphatic 4-1 win over Everton, on current form you’d argue they have one foot in next season’s Champions League.
As a result, with Man United looking a little fragile after throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Tottenham on Thursday night, and suffering a heavy Europa League quarter-final defeat at the hands of Sevilla the week before, they perhaps offer the Reds their best, albeit still unlikely, hope of a top four finish.
Yet this is where that 7-0 thrashing of the Red Devils could prove vital for Klopp’s men.
While Newcastle’s recent emphatic wins leaving them boasting a superior goal-difference of +32 compared to Liverpool’s +22, Man United’s is only +9. That memorable win at Anfield has given the Reds a 14-goal turnaround on their bitter rivals to hand them a significantly healthier return in the process.
If the Red Devils are to slip up and Liverpool are to take advantage, that goal-difference gap will only get wider too. As a result, while Newcastle are looking increasingly formidable, as it stands, Liverpool would have the upper-hand if they found themselves in a position where they could finish level on points with Erik ten Hag’s men. Perhaps Klopp's latest comments were alluding to this possible scenario?
Of course, that still means they can only record a maximum 11 points from their potential 21 left on offer to them, with Liverpool winning all six of their own remaining games. But it’s at least slightly more possible than the in-form Magpies only picking up the needed eight points from 18 for the Reds to be able to take advantage.
Regardless of where Liverpool finish this season, that historic 7-0 victory will be a result supporters cherish. But if, come the end of the season, ‘they could say something nice on top of that’ and ‘qualified still’ despite such setbacks, it will have proven to be more even more decisive.
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