Jurgen Klopp, in the final month of his Liverpool career, candidly expressed his disappointment with Chelsea’s performance against title rivals Arsenal.
The German manager had hoped that Chelsea would hinder Arsenal’s progress in the title race, but instead, Chelsea suffered their most significant defeat in a London derby since the mid-1980s.
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Speaking ahead of the Merseyside derby, Klopp said: “We have to keep being a pain for everybody. It is difficult to ignore the Arsenal game from last night. We were aware of it as well. I watched five minutes and thought that was enough.
“That is the situation and we have to win all of our games. The situation we are in is a good situation but it is one where it is not in our hands, but we can keep it as close to our hands as possible by winning our own football games.”
The Gunners’ win not only propelled them back to the top of the table but also bolstered their impressive goal difference.
This means that if Liverpool aims to secure a second Premier League title under Klopp, they’ll need Arsenal to stumble before the season’s end.
Otherwise, Klopp’s last season with the Reds might conclude with only one trophy, especially considering their recent defeat against Everton.
Klopp is set to leave after Liverpool’s final Premier League match, with Arne Slot from Feyenoord speculated to take over.
However, Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender turned Sky Sports pundit, suggests that Liverpool’s pursuit of Slot underscores the scarcity of top-quality managers in the market.
He said: “From Feyenoord to Liverpool is a huge jump and I think it shows at this moment that there’s probably a dearth of real top managers out there, when you look at who Liverpool are going for.
“Initially it was Xabi Alonso – it’s only his first full season as a manager – then there was talk of Ruben Amorim from Sporting, who’s only 39. Now Arne Slot is the favourite.”
Liverpool came into the derby hoping to maintain their title tilt but the defeat has left the chances in tatters and three points behind Arsenal and only one in front of Manchester City, who have two matches in hand on them.
