Jurgen Klopp said he could “only apologise” to Liverpool fans after his first Premier League Merseyside derby defeat dealt a potentially fatal blow to the title contenders’ hopes of glory.
Liverpool slipped to a tame 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park, where Everton were awarded a penalty which was overturned before Jarrad Branthwaite gave them a 27th-minute lead.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s unmarked header completed a result which leaves the Reds three points behind Arsenal with four games remaining, while Manchester City are a point behind Klopp’s side with two matches in hand.
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“Arsenal and Manchester City must have a very bad moment,” Klopp acknowledged while assessing Liverpool’s chances.
“I’m very disappointed on a load of things. We let it become exactly the game Everton wanted. We were not good enough. I didn’t expect that but it happened.”
Klopp: Liverpool ‘didn’t use moments’
“There were situations when we pretty much shot at [Everton goalkeeper Jordan] Pickford or shot over,” rued Klopp. “When you have good moments and don’t use them, that makes it really tricky.
“I don’t know. I can only apologise for today to the people. We should have done better but we didn’t.”
“We were not good enough” ❌
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on his side’s performance against Everton 😬 pic.twitter.com/EtIpuIOTjo
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 24, 2024
Having won the Carabao Cup in February, Liverpool had harboured ambitions of adding the Uefa Europa League and Premier League to cap Klopp’s final season in charge with a treble.
A 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals put paid to their European campaign, and a run of four points from 12 in the league has made top spot look highly unlikely.
“It’s not the greatest moment we are in but we still have to play games,” said Klopp. “We tried but, in the end, it’s not good enough. You can give 500 reasons when you lose.”
Liverpool are next in action when they visit eighth-placed West Ham on Saturday (12:30 BST).
They then face fifth-placed Tottenham and fourth-placed Aston Villa.
