Liverpool Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his players after they won their ‘semi-final’ against Burnley as they confidently strolled to a 3-0 victory at Turf Moor.
The Reds now hold their top four destiny in their own hands after leapfrogging Leicester City into fourth place – with Roberto Firmino, Nat Phillips and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all on target in an impressive display.
Now the German boss wants his players to go one further and win the ‘final’ against Crystal Palace in their last match of the season on Sunday – doing so would guarantee their path into next season’s Champions League.
They are level on points with the Foxes – who welcome Tottenham in their final game – and Klopp was left relieved after his players turned out a ‘top performance’ to secure a crucial result in their European conquest.
‘It was a semi-final and we won it, clean sheet,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘Nothing has been decided but we have an improved position. We deserved it – it was a top performance. We [couldn’t give] a chance away because of their physicality.
‘They wanted to go for our centre backs, but they did outstandingly well. Bobby [Firmino] scored, we had two big chances before that. Oxlade-Chamberlain showed nice skills, it was a good reminder for him [about] how good he is.’
One advantage Liverpool will have going into their last game against Palace is the return of their fans, with 10,000 of their world-famous support set to flock to Anfield just in time for the season’s end.
Klopp said having the noise of the crowd would boost the team, but insisted the players would have to ‘recover quickly’ against a ‘strong’ Palace side, adding that it would act as a ‘final’ for the season.
‘Our problem is not Sunday but to make sure we recover quickly. We have to wrap them in cotton wool for Sunday,’ he added.
‘We now have 10,000 [fans] at Anfield. I can’t wait for that, but nothing is decided. Palace are strong – you have to be at the top of your game, and rightly so, let’s give it a try.’
‘We have another final again,’ he later told the BBC.
‘After a long, long time we didn’t really know where we would end. Now we are in a European league and we need to secure the Champions League on the last day. There are really important football games on the last day.’
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