Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Arsenal on Sunday left the Reds with a mountain to climb in the Premier League title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are now 10th in the standings, 14 points behind the Gunners who played one less game.
The Merseysiders were considered among the favorites in all competitions. on most soccer betting sites at the start of the season, but things haven’t gone according to plan.
Having seen his team win just two of their first eight games, the former Borussia Dortmund manager has already admitted his team will not win the title.
“We are not in the title race,” Klopp said. sky sports. “We have problems at the moment, but we have to continue. In a situation like ours, we will go out and fight.
“We are not here to be happy with the situation and thinking about last year. We are very disappointed. Around the three goals we made decisive mistakes.
“The first goal is not what you need. A bad start. We started to control the game against a very aggressive and confident Arsenal.
“We showed that we are here for a reason, we scored the equalizer, a wonderful goal. So it’s an open game and an advantage for us.
“So we made a bad decision before halftime, what are we doing? The worst possible beginning, the worst possible ending.”
The German manager questioned the decision to award Arsenal their match-winning penalty and was unhappy that his own team did not receive a penalty in the first half.
However, Liverpool’s current situation cannot be attributed to decisions made by officials; anyone who suggests otherwise would do well to reconsider his position.
The Reds’ quest for glory this season has certainly not been helped by injuries to key players and they suffered two more at the Emirates Stadium.
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Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold were forced to withdraw from the match and neither will play Manchester City this weekend.
Despite those setbacks, Liverpool still had enough talent on the pitch to get something out of the game, but it was undone by some familiar failures.
Conceding early goals has become the norm this season and this should not happen given the talent at Klopp’s disposal.
What is more worrying, rival teams are overtaking Liverpool, something that was previously unthinkable.
Key players like Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk have also underperformed and need to step things up if the team is to salvage anything from this season.
It has been suggested in certain circles that Liverpool suffer from a hangover from his failed quest for the quad, but that argument doesn’t stack up.
Liverpool are in the business of winning trophies and a hectic schedule is the price every club must pay if they want to win trophies.
While Klopp is undoubtedly playing smart by downplaying Liverpool’s title hopes, it’s too early to write off his chances.
There are still plenty of points up for grabs and his team has the ability to go on a long unbeaten run if things fall into place.
With Manchester City visiting Anfield on Sunday, there could be no better time for Liverpool to show they can. force your way into title contention.
A victory over Pep Guardiola’s side this weekend would leave Liverpool 10 points behind their eternal title rivals with one game to go.
Subsequent games against West Ham United (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Leeds United (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A) and Southampton (A) can all be won if the Reds get their act together.
A minimum return of 14 points in his next six games would give Liverpool a different look to the season heading into the World Cup break.
Their rivals are likely to suffer slumps and injuries of their own, giving the Reds a chance to make up the deficit.
To be sure, finishing in the top four should be the minimum requirement for this season and that’s probably a more realistic goal than a title challenge.
If they can get some relief on the injury front and improve the performance of their top stars, there’s no reason why this can’t be a successful season.
The domestic cups offer real opportunities to win trophies, while the Champions League doesn’t kick off properly until the second half of the campaign.
Things may be a bit gloomy at the moment, but there is still a lot of football to play for and it would be foolish to write anything off at this point.
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