Unusually reserved tones: Jürgen Klopp has already stated that it is very unlikely that Liverpool FC will win the Premier League this season.
The Reds have made a miserable start to the new season by their own standards and are already 13 points behind leaders Manchester City (who have also played two games more) ahead of Sunday’s clash at Arsenal.
Liverpool have won just two of their first seven league games of the new season. Ahead of the trip to Emirates Stadium, Klopp revealed he no longer sees his side as title contenders.
“From today’s perspective, does it look like we’ll be champions at the end of the year? Unfortunately not,” said Klopp. “But in all the other competitions we’re not out yet. Nobody knows where we’ll end up in the league, so we’ll just try it. That’s it. Difficult yes, impossible no. So let’s go from here. Had I thought we would be ninth after matchday seven? No. But that’s the base we’re on now and we have to go from there.”
Klopp surprised the footballing world when he signed a new long-term deal with Liverpool in the spring after most assumed he would leave the club once his previous deal expired in 2024.
The Germany manager has an odd habit of seeing his side’s form wane after his seventh season at the club. That was already the case with Mainz and Borussia Dortmund before this stagnation reappeared in Liverpool.
However, Klopp emphasized that he is fully motivated to steer the Reds’ fortunes and that this situation cannot be compared to those in Mainz and Dortmund.
“I didn’t have any plans for the seven years here. I was just glad I survived the first press conference because my English wasn’t really that good! But I don’t have a problem with energy – and the situation here is very different. When I was coach in Mainz, after three years we were promoted to the Bundesliga and three years later we were relegated again. We tried for another year – and then the club needed a change because the players left us for the Bundesliga.” , he added.
“I was full of energy. I went straight to Dortmund and everything was fine. I could have stayed there. They wanted me to stay. But it was like players were constantly being poached to other clubs or leaving for whatever reason – and that was really a difficult task. Instead of developing a team, we kept taking two steps backwards. It was really intense and exhausting. That’s why I said: ‘OK, come on, we have to stop here’. “
“I didn’t have an energy problem, but I took a year off because it was so nice at the time. I think Pep [Guardiola] did it and so did Thomas Tuchel. So a vacation – let’s try it. But I could It didn’t and after four months I was back here.”
“I’m in a difficult situation at the moment. But if you think twice about it, the situations [between Liverpool and Dortmund] are completely different. Being here for seven years is intense. There’s no doubt about that. “
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Klopp downplays championship chances – situation in Liverpool not comparable to BVB.
