Jurgen Klopp always raises eyebrows with his insistence that Liverpool’s primary aim is to finish in the top 4.
It seems absurd given his team has consistently held their own against Manchester City for the last five years.
However, it’s worth remembering that Liverpool missed out on the Champions League for five out of six years before Jurgen Klopp was appointed.
Ahead of the new season, the ‘chasing pack’, as it were, are strengthening, and Jurgen Klopp knows the competition is going to be fierce.
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“It’s always like this: the main target is to qualify for the Champions League,” the German told Sky Sports. “It’s really difficult enough already. When you reach that and then still have time to fight for the title, then you do that. But for the majority of the season you fight for the Champions League.
“I know when you qualify for four or five years in a row, people don’t appreciate that anymore like when we qualified the first time,” Klopp explained. “But it’s still the main thing to do.”
It’s genuinely difficult to predict who will finish in the top 4 next season. Every contending team has vastly improved on last season. Arsenal and Spurs in particular are attaining what has made Liverpool so successful recently – teams in the mould of their coaches. Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte are going to be able to play exactly the kind of football they want next year.
That’s not to mention Chelsea, who have signed Raheem Sterling and you have to assume they’re not finished yet.
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“That will be a massive fight, oh my god,” Klopp affirmed. “That’s the Premier League. I have no idea who will make the race, it looks like City in the end will be the champion. If we hadn’t have been champion I think they would’ve won it five or six times in a row which is really crazy in this country. But our target is to play the best possible season for us. What can we squeeze out? Let’s see. Really looking forward to it.”
