Jamie Carragher expects Liverpool to miss out on Champions League qualification through the Premier League.
The Sky Sports pundit said it is now “a long way back” for Arne Slot’s side to finish in the top five, following their 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Super Sunday.
That loss has left Liverpool four points off fifth-placed Chelsea. Had City’s disallowed third goal have stood, Liverpool would have fallen to seventh in the league table as they are level on goal difference with Brentford.
Were they to lose at Sunderland on Wednesday, they could slip as low as ninth.
When asked if he reckons Liverpool will make the Premier League’s qualifying places for the Champions League – which is set to be expanded from four positions to five again this season – Carragher replied: “No. Right now I don’t.
“They would have to have a huge upturn in form. And the ones above them are in great form.”
Reflecting on the impact of the defeat to Man City, he said: “It’s a bad one. When you look at the league for Liverpool, it looks like a long way to get into the top five Champions League positions. There’s a gap now. You can make that up but Liverpool will have to do well in the two cup competitions to save the season.”
Slot has immediate problems ahead of the tricky midweek trip to Sunderland, too, with three right-backs unavailable. Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are injured and Dominik Szoboszlai – who played in that position against Man City – is suspended after his sending off, while Joe Gomez is a fitness doubt.
“When you look at Liverpool’s bench for the game against Sunderland in midweek, Szoboszlai won’t be playing now and they’ve got a problem at right-back,” added Carragher.
Discussing what Slot can do to get Liverpool on track, Carragher said there are key issues around the balance of the squad – as well as bad mistakes being made by their top players.
“A lot of Liverpool’s season is about mistakes you cannot believe from players of that calibre,” he said. “Virgil van Dijk at Bournemouth, Alisson [against Man City]. You can’t believe a goalkeeper of his calibre makes the decision to do that for the penalty.
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot suggests Manchester City defender Marc Guehi should have seen red for a pull on Mohamed Salah which denied him a goalscoring opportunity
“The manager has another decision to make on the front four.
“If Liverpool continue the way they are, with a front four and the games end to end, I just don’t see how they can make the Champions League positions.
“But no matter what Arne Slot does, the make-up of this squad and team isn’t right. It never looks stable, they are never in control.
“There is a long road ahead for Liverpool to make the Champions League places.”
Nightmare finale adds to Slot’s struggles
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Adam Bate at Anfield:
The first words of the Liverpool boss in the press conference after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City were that he was feeling “angry and frustrated” – and he went on to fixate on the decision not to send off Marc Guehi for a tug on Mo Salah’s shirt.
That is understandable. So near and yet so far. Liverpool were closing in on a memorable victory that would have put them within two points of fourth. In the end, it is a crushing defeat that comes coupled with the suspension of Szoboszlai.
Maintaining any perspective in the circumstances will be difficult, but Liverpool’s second-half showing did offer encouragement. They troubled City with their pressing and threatened to overwhelm them during long spells of the second half at Anfield.
“The improvement we have made since three or four months ago was visible for everyone,” said Slot. “Second half, our standards went up, in terms of intensity, we were pressing them all over the place and that is the biggest improvement we have made.
“That the whole is capable against one of the teams that is probably best, maybe the best team in England in ball possession, to do so well off the ball is a big improvement. A fantastic second half. I was expecting more than being one goal up.”
Instead, it is a defeat and, as Slot conceded in his final thoughts before departing, that undermines any talk of progress at Liverpool. “The issue is you don’t see this improvement in the league table and that is the most important,” said the Reds boss.
Liverpool go to Sunderland on Wednesday with their hosts having had an extra day of rest and with Slot trying to find yet another solution at right-back where he is now onto his fifth choice. A game that was nearly a turning point ends up only adding to the pressure.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
