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Luis Garcia, recently back at Anfield to play as part of the squad of Liverpool Legends in a charity match against a group of Real Madrid Legends, talked about this Liverpool team’s chances of clinching a top four spot.
There are nine games left to play, and the Reds currently sit in the fourth spot, but Manchester United and Arsenal both have two games in hand.
Champions League football is still very much on the table for Liverpool next season, but there is very little room for error in the last stretch of games ahead of them.
Garcia, who himself won the Champions League trophy with Liverpool in 2005, believes that Jürgen Klopp’s team has what it takes to see the season through.
Speaking with Sky Sports, he said, “I think it’s still there (Champions League qualification for Liverpool). It was the target at the beginning of the season and it’s the one they have to continue working for.”
A strong first half of the season, which saw Liverpool firmly in second place, came tumbling down in the first two months of 2017 when they only managed to win a single Premier League game.
About this poor run of form, Garcia continued, “I think the team is ready for it, it’s true they had a down period during the first part of 2017 but I’m sure of the reaction they’re going to have.”
“They [Liverpool] have the perfect manager to do it. We know what [Klopp] is capable of doing with this team and they’ve shown it before during the first part of the league.
“I don’t have a doubt that if they continue working the same way they will be in the top four at the end of the season.”
The Reds’ next challenge will be against their hometown rivals, Everton, on Saturday, and a win would be a big step towards achieving this goal. Every three points is crucial from now until the end, but a derby win would be a huge boost to moral going into the final stretch.
Garcia, a veteran of many a Merseyside derby, said about this upcoming fixture, “Anything can happen and I’m sure the players, with a game like this one, are going to go for it.”