Jürgen Klopp probably has to bury his hopes of a second championship title with Liverpool FC. The outgoing coach’s team made a potentially fatal mistake in the Premier League title race with a 0-2 (0-1) defeat in the Merseyside derby at Everton FC.
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“Now City and Arsenal need a crisis. But I also have to be honest: If we play like we did today, how are you supposed to become champions? Why?” Klopp found clear words to Sky. “I feel very sorry for the people because I know what it means to them. We never lost here and it feels really different. I truly apologize for that.”
“Very dirty, unnecessary and very, very frustrating”
He then harshly criticized his team: “It can’t be that we allow ourselves to play like that in a derby and end up becoming champions. But well, maybe that’s still possible, I don’t know. But that’s not my problem at the moment. I just want us to be ourselves on Saturday (in the game at West Ham; editor’s note). And in a very good way.”
For Klopp it was his first defeat at Goodison Park as Liverpool boss. Jarrad Branthwaite (27th) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (58th) scored for the Toffees against the generally disappointing guests. “It feels very dirty, unnecessary and very, very frustrating,” said Klopp. “But: That just wasn’t good enough tonight. You can’t come to a derby here and think you’ll play for a bit and then win the thing easily. That’s why it is the way it is now.”
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Liverpool are increasingly running out of breath in the final meters of the season. In the last three league games, the Reds suffered two defeats – as many as in 42 Premier League games.
“Everyone has to ask themselves whether they have given everything”
“That is hard. Everyone has to look in the mirror and ask themselves whether they really gave it their all and really want to win the league,” said captain Virgil van Dijk on Sky Sports. “If we play like we did today, we have no chance of seeing ourselves as title contenders.”
In the table, the Reds are three points behind leaders FC Arsenal, who underlined their title ambitions with a 5-0 win against Chelsea FC on Tuesday. Defending champions Manchester City are currently one point behind Liverpool in third place, but they still have two fewer games in their account.
Carragher: Liverpool’s exit from the title race
“This is the end of the title race for Liverpool. “It was Everton’s evening, you have to accept that,” said ex-Liverpool star Jamie Carragher. Former Man United and Everton star Wayne Rooney described Liverpool’s defensive behavior as naive. “And Everton ran a lot more and were rewarded for it,” analyzed Rooney.
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Liverpool pushed for an equalizer after going behind early, but the second goal seemed like a low blow. Only one win from the last four league games probably means the end of the title dreams of the Reds, who were also recently eliminated from the Europa League.
Glasner celebrates his next victory with Palace
Coach Oliver Glasner celebrated their third win in a row with Crystal Palace. After the 2-0 (0-0) win against Newcastle United, staying in the league is also mathematically perfect.
Meanwhile, there was a goal record for the Premier League on Wednesday: Although there are still 45 games to be played, the league broke the record of 1,084 goals in a season that was set last year.
With Sports Information Service (SID)