The outgoing Liverpool manager apologizes to fans after the 2-0 defeat to Everton that almost ended their Premier League title hopes.
Liverpool’s first defeat to Everton at Goodison Park in 14 years has left the Reds’ dream of sending their coach off as Premier League winners in tatters.
Jürgen Klopp’s almost nine years at Liverpool will be over at the end of the current season in which they hoped to win a second league title under their German coach, but a 2-0 away defeat in the Merseyside derby has dashed all hopes.
Just a few weeks ago, Liverpool were on course for a possible quadruple tournament, but fell off track.
A run of four wins in nine games has seen Klopp’s men crash out of the Europa League and FA Cup and lose pace at the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool are three points behind leaders Arsenal and just one point ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who still have two games in hand.
Klopp apologized to fans after Wednesday’s defeat.
“[Leaders Arsenal and Manchester City] “It must be a very bad moment,” said Klopp, who looked completely shaken, when asked about his team’s chances.
“I don’t know. All I can do today is apologize to people. Everyone who is with us knows how hard it was for us too. We should have done better, but we didn’t manage it.”
“You lost the league at Goodison Park”
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a 2-0 win that the Everton faithful at Goodison Park will not soon forget as they serenaded the visitors with “They lost the league at Goodison Park” after the final whistle .
Klopp could only shake his head at Calvert-Lewin’s goal from a corner in the 58th minute, saying Everton had had this set-piece in their game plan all season and his players had been prepared for it.
Klopp said he was disappointed “by many things”.
“We let exactly the game happen that Everton wanted. Two goals from standard situations. We created a lot but didn’t score a goal. We were in a hurry, not really clear enough. But we weren’t good enough, we absolutely have to admit that.
“Of course I didn’t expect that today, but it happened anyway. Obviously it’s not the best moment we’re in. In the end it’s not good enough. If you win, there are 500 reasons. If you lose, it’s just not good enough.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was blunt in his assessment, telling Sky Sports: “We have to do a lot better.”
“If we play like we did today, we have no chance of being in the title race.”
The pursuit of the quadruple could come back to haunt Klopp now that Liverpool appear to have run out of steam.
They have played 54 games this season and will play four more before the end of the season.
A number of academy graduates stepped up during an injury crisis in the early months of 2024, helping Klopp secure at least some silverware in his final season by winning the League Cup in February.
But just as they have been getting key players back in recent weeks with the return of Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold, those who were most relied upon over the winter months are disappearing.
Klopp admitted after the Palace game that midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo are struggling due to the load placed on them at the start of the season.
“Players who have played all the games are less fresh, but that also applies to the other teams. I don’t want that to be an excuse,” Klopp added.
“A lot of things are coming together, so it’s not good timing. I would rather sit here and win 4-0 and fly, but the job is to win football games and the more you win, the more successful you are.
“At the moment we haven’t won enough to get anything out of the season.”
Liverpool travel to West Ham United on Saturday. In their last three games they face Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.