"Chased the best team in the world to the wire" - Klopp says finishing second is the 'story of his life' as Manchester City pip Liverpool to Premier League glory
Liverpool's dream of a history-making quadruple ended on Sunday as Manchester City secured a fourth Premier League title in five years.
Despite falling behind early, the Reds kept up their unbeaten domestic record in 2022. They earned a 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Andy Robertson.
You know how good Jurgen Klopp is when he’s got Everton, Chelsea & Man Utd fans celebrating City winning the league.. My manager 🤌🏻 https://t.co/TGLmQKp7o1
Throughout the afternoon, it appeared as if that would be enough to snatch the title from City's clutches, as the latter fell 2-0 behind to Aston Villa, who are led by Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard.
However, three goals in five minutes put the Cityzens into a late lead which they would hang on to, leaving Jurgen Klopp's side to be runners-up once again.
Speaking to Sky Sports (as quoted by Eurosport) Klopp congratulated City but expressed his disappointment also:
"Congratulations to Man City and Pep Guardiola. Thank you to Aston Villa and Wolverhampton for making a proper game of it. It’s not the result we wanted. It was a bit of a rollercoaster. I don’t know the results exactly but I know they were 1-0 up – were they 2-0 up as well? Of course, at the moment, there’s disappointment here as well."
"If it’s 5-0 to City after 10 minutes it’s just a normal game for us. It wasn’t our best game either, but it’s all good. 92 points is absolutely incredible. We wanted it all, but now it’s OK. [Finishing second] is the story of my life. I’m still record holder for not getting promoted in Germany with the highest points tally. You need to get more points than any other teams, but we didn’t do that. You can’t do more than give your absolute best and that’s what the boys did again. We chased the best team in the world to the wire, that’s absolutely special. We’ll build a team again and go again."
Klopp's Liverpool have now been runners-up twice to Guardiola's City. This was the situation even when the pair managed Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively.
Liverpool believed for a good while this afternoon, and Villa gave them plenty of reason to. The tension was unbearable.
In the end, Klopp's side have worked wonders to take it this far. It's been a hell of a ride, and there's still another stop off to come.
#LFC #MCFC
Jurgen Klopp offers update on star Liverpool midfielder
Liverpool must now switch their attention to their upcoming Champions League final with Real Madrid, but they face a mounting injury-list.
Midfielder Thiago Alcantara limped off during the victory over Wolves. This caused panic amongst the Anfield fanbase ahead of the showpiece event in Europe, with Klopp commenting after the victory:
"I think he’ll be out of the final but I don’t know. He’s limping, so it’s maybe not the best sign."
Thiago has hurt himself. Walks off and straight down the tunnel. Not good. #LFC