Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he does not expect his side to catch either Manchester United or Newcastle United in the race for a top-four finish this season.
After watching both United and Newcastle win earlier in the day, Liverpool recorded a victory of their own, beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 in an Anfield thriller on Sunday afternoon, lifting them up to fifth in the standings. Diogo Jota netted a dramatic 94th minute winner for the Merseysiders, just a minute after Richarlison thought he had sealed an unlikely point for the Londoners, making it 3-3 after Spurs had found themselves 3-0 down.
The win kept Liverpool seven points behind fourth-placed United and nine points behind Newcastle in third, meaning they will require a series of results to go their way to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League for next season alive. Liverpool are currently fifth on 56 points, two ahead of both Tottenham and Aston Villa, who have each played a game more.
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Although Liverpool, certainly mathematically, are not out of the top-four race just yet, Klopp has all but conceded defeat in his side's hopes of qualifying for Europe's premier club competition for next season, admitting that he is only focused on his side getting the wins they need to qualify for Europe full stop, presumably via the Europa League.
When asked if Liverpool can still secure Champions League qualification, Klopp told BBC Sport: "Of course not. If United and Newcastle wins all the games then how can we get there?
"If they start losing them we are close. Until then we have to win football games to qualify for Europe at all."
United, who maintained their push for a top-four finish with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, do still have a game in hand over Liverpool, meaning another three points could all but seal their place in the top-four. Liverpool, however, could reduce the current gap to just four points with a win over Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday night.
United then travel to Brighton & Hove Albion 24 hours later, aiming to extend their unbeaten league run to five matches. Once this week's midweek matches are completed, United will have five games left and Liverpool will have four.
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