Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp believes top-four finish would be ‘one of biggest achievements ever’
A failed Premier League title defence has also seen the Reds battling to qualify for the Champions League
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Your support makes all the difference.Jurgen Klopp has insisted that a top-four finish for Liverpool this season would be “one of the biggest achievements ever”.
Klopp guided Liverpool to their first ever Premier League title last year after winning the Champions League with the club in 2019, yet the coach has said that merely qualifying for next year’s edition of Europe’s elite knockout competition would mark a successful campaign.
Liverpool, having failed to defend their domestic title with Manchester City regaining the crown this month, are fifth in the table with two games remaining.
The Reds trail fourth-placed Chelsea by one point as Klopp and his players prepare to visit Burnley on Wednesday.
“Massive, absolutely massive – it will be one of the biggest achievements ever,” Klopp told Sky Sports when asked how significant a top-four Premier League finish would be for Liverpool.
“I know how that sounds, but it’s the truth. Everybody here sees it like that.
“If you are going to write a book about a season and you want to be depressed afterwards, you would probably take this season.
“You read it and then think: ‘That happened and then that happened.’ Most of the things you would never get in public, it’s just that we had a lot of things to deal with.
“But here we are. Whatever happened this year, it gave us the chance to hold our destiny in our hands with two games [remaining].”
Last time out, Liverpool secured a 2-1 win at an already relegated West Brom, with goalkeeper Alisson heading home the decisive goal in the 95th minute.
“I am looking forward to the game at Burnley,” Klopp said. “It’s a different game, a different mindset, a different mood.
“But we know how tough it will be. For the first time in ages, there will be supporters in the stadium at Turf Moor,” the German added, referencing the return of fans as Britain continues along its roadmap out of a coronavirus-enforced lockdown.
“[Burnley coach] Sean Dyche, a proper competitive guy, the team lost against Leeds pretty clearly [in their most recent game], so they will want to strike back, all these kinds of things.
“It will be a tough one, but qualifying for the Champions League should be tough, so I have no problem with that.
“We just need to make sure we are ready. We need to bring all we need on the pitch again.”
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