LIVERPOOL, England (AP):
The smile is back on Jurgen Klopp’s face – even if his Liverpool players seem intent on testing his nerves right to the end.
The English Premier League (EPL) title may be all but beyond the Merseyside club, but that doesn’t mean the drama is over for Klopp, who will step down at the end of the season.
Last week he was arguing on the sideline with Mohamed Salah as Liverpool effectively dropped out of the title race. Salah opened the scoring in a 4-2 win against Tottenham at Anfield yesterday, but it was Harvey Elliott who appeared to bring the broadest smile to Klopp’s face with a wonderful long-range goal in what looked like a cakewalk for Klopp’s team.
“What a goal,” the Liverpool manager said. “In the game you only see it flying in and I thought, ‘That was a good shot.’ The goal I saw afterwards was not a lot of space left or right. It went exactly where it should be. Top goal.”
Elliott’s strike after goals from Salah, Andy Robertson and Cody Gakpo, put Liverpool into a 4-0 lead before the game had reached the hour mark. What followed was the unlikeliest of fightbacks from Spurs that might have made this another frustrating day in what a disappointing finale for Klopp at the end of nearly nine trophy-filled years has ultimately been.
Goals from Richarlison and Son Heung-min made it a much closer contest than it had ever looked like, and it needed two outstanding saves from Alisson, a goal-line clearance from Joe Gomez and a VAR call to prevent it from being closer still.
“It’s a little bit of a mirror of the season. Really, really, really, good until we were really rubbish and then, we were okay again,” Klopp said.
A nervy finish didn’t stop the home fans from beckoning Klopp to produce his trademark post-match triple fist pump to the crowd after his penultimate home game in charge, with Feyenoord coach Arne Slot set to take over next season.
Mathematically, at least, it is not over for third-place Liverpool, who sit five points adrift of leaders Arsenal with two games remaining, but, in reality, a late-season slump has killed Klopp’s hopes of walking away with a second EPL crown of his reign.
VILLA SLIP
A bad week for Aston Villa got worse after a surprise 1-0 loss at Brighton.
Unai Emery’s team lost 4-2 at home to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday and on a day when it could have secured their place in next season’s Champions League, they suffered another setback when Joao Pedro headed home a rebound in the 87th after seeing his penalty saved by Robin Olsen.
Only Spurs’ loss at Anfield prevented it from being a bigger blow after the result at the Amex Stadium had given Ange Postecoglou’s players hope in their pursuit of Villa in fourth.
Villa still missed out on the chance of making certain of a top-four finish.
CHELSEA ROUT WEST HAM
Chelsea’s troubled season could still end on something of a high after they boosted their chances of European football next season with a 5-0 rout of West Ham.
The win at Stamford Bridge moved Chelsea up to seventh in the standings and two points behind sixth-place Newcastle. Only the top six teams in the EPL will be guaranteed a place in Europe next season.
“We need to keep this momentum and belief going,” Pochettino said.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the second half after Chelsea had raced to a 3-0 lead by the break, through goals from Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke.