The defending champions are well off the pace domestically, with Europe their only remaining hope of a trophy this season
Jurgen Klopp has insisted that his Liverpool side will never abandon their pursuit of a top-four place in the Premier League in order to focus on the Champions League.
The Reds have slipped to seventh in the league table after a miserable run of form, and currently find themselves four points behind fourth-place Chelsea.
Klopp’s side are still in good shape in Europe though, having defeated RB Leipzig 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 matchup.
What has been said?
“I can’t think about winning the Champions League now as we have to go through this difficult round,” Klopp said.
“This week we play these three games, late in the season, with two days in between, Thursday, Sunday and Wednesday, and it is tough.
“We see who we can field on Sunday and then who can play on Wednesday but it is not that we gave up on the Premier League, that will never happen.
“There is no game we can play and lose and people say, ‘Ah … look at the line-up.’
“Liverpool is too big, too many people are interested. We don’t play behind closed doors really without cameras, it is in front of our people and we feel the responsibility that in each game we have to give our absolute everything to win it.
“If that doesn’t happen then people will think, ‘that’s not enough’. We don’t change our attitude.”
The bigger picture
Liverpool’s Premier League title defence has all but ended, with the Reds sitting 22 points back of Pep Guardiola’s high-flying Manchester City.
Klopp’s men will end the season without any domestic silverware, having also been eliminated from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
That leaves the Champions League as their last hope at winning a trophy in 2020-21, with Liverpool hoping to make it two European titles in three seasons.
Winning the Champions League could also be their only route back into next season’s competition should they fail to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
After they face Fulham in Premier League play on Sunday, Liverpool will take on RB Leipzig on Wednesday in Budapest in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
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