I know Liverpool fans have still been clutching at the hope of Champions League football, but their result on Saturday doesn't matter, the top four has been out of reach for some time.
I know you can look at Manchester United’s fixtures and say, West Ham away tough, Bournemouth and Fulham have been good recently and so on, but the fact is, Liverpool left themselves far too much to do.
Jurgen Klopp seems to agree as well, speaking before the game with Brentford, he said of their chances: “Nothing has changed. Other teams are in much better positions and as long as they win games we have no chance.
“We also have to keep teams behind us too. If Brighton win all their games, and how they played last night that’s possible, another incredible performance, then (they could go above us).
“We have 59 points, United has 63, so we can get 71 maximum. United needs for that, eight points in five games. I think they will do that! They win three games and that is it. The way the top four teams played over this year, no one looks like losing more games than they win.”
I’m not one of these who say it’s better for them if they don’t actually qualify for the Europa League or the Conference League or whatever.
I scored a goal in a European final - the UEFA Cup then - and lifted the trophy, and no one will ever take that away from me. It was one of the great nights in my old club’s history, and one of the great finals too. You shouldn’t diminish that.
Maybe Liverpool’s fans have been a bit spoiled in recent years with Jurgen Klopp guaranteeing Champions League football - and finals at that - but it’s still European football, for God’s sake. You can only win four trophies in a season, and only the elite can do that, because the rest don’t even get into Europe.
So I’m not one of these who reckon you should play weakened teams in the Europa League. No chance. You put all that effort into getting into Europe and then don’t want to be there? Nonsense.
All I can say is, that night in Dortmund when we won the UEFA CUp meant so much to me, and to Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and the rest too. It’s a European competition and the fans should be delighted if they get there.
