‘The title is slipping away’ – Liverpool ‘will start worrying about top four’ after Burnley humbling, says Carragher

Liverpool “will start worrying about the top four” after their humbling at the hands of Burnley, according to Jamie Carragher, who says “the title is slipping away”.

The Reds missed the chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester United to three points after suffering a surprise home loss to the Clarets on Thursday night.

Klopp’s side were protecting a 68-game unbeaten record at Anfield , the second longest streak in top-flight history, but the visitors ended that run after an impressive performance which saw Ashley Barnes seal a 1-0 victory from the penalty spot in the latter stages of the game.

Liverpool have now gone four consecutive matches without scoring for the first time since the year 2000, having seemingly lost the spark in the final third which saw them storm to a first domestic crown in three decades last season.

The hosts had 27 shots over the course of the 90 minutes but lacked the killer touch in front of goal, with Divock Origi guilty of missing their best chance of the game when he struck the woodwork with only Nick Pope to beat late in the first half.

Carragher, who made over 500 appearances for the Reds between 1996 and 2013, is concerned that his old club will end up being drawn into the battle for Champions League qualification instead of the one for the Premier League trophy unless Klopp can oversee a swift turnaround in fortunes in the coming weeks.

“We talked about a lack of form and Jurgen Klopp has come out and defended his players and these Liverpool players have done so well for the club,” the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports post-match.

“The title is slipping away. It’s going to be really difficult at this moment in time. There’s six points between the top, it can still be recovered but the form they are in and the fixtures they have in the next couple of months. 

“They will start worrying about the top four rather than the title. They need to get back to winning games and scoring goals before pondering about the defence of their title. 

“They’ve been so poor, he (Klopp) can’t believe what’s happening to Liverpool in the last few weeks, from the 7-0 win at Palace. 

“So many players are out of form at the same time, how they go about it (the games). 

“There are so many teams this season challenging for the top four.”

The reigning English champions will now turn their attention to a meeting with United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, which comes four days before they take in a must-win trip to Tottenham in the top-flight.