Dominik Szoboszlai suggested Liverpool would be lucky to qualify for the Conference League, let alone the Champions League, after their home draw with Tottenham. The midfielder put the Reds ahead before the break with his fifth free-kick goal of the season. Guglielmo Vicario should have made the save, but the Spurs goalkeeper deflected the shot and ended up sending the ball into his own net.
It looked like Liverpool would hold on to the three points, but Tottenham looked to equalize and were finally rewarded with Richarlison’s goal just before the end of the regular period. The result was a huge blow to Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, especially after Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points earlier this weekend.
After the game, a visibly depressed Szoboszlai told Sky Sports: “We have to wake up. If we keep going like this, we should be happy if we play in the Conference League next season.”
“In the first half, we played very well. We controlled the whole game, but they didn’t create many chances. In the second half, I don’t know, we just didn’t do the same thing as in the first half.”
“The question is why? We sit together. These are the most difficult times. We must come together.”
“I didn’t hear any boos (at full time), but it’s understandable because we won the championship last season and this season we haven’t performed as well as we should.
“They should stay behind us because everyone was happy last season when we were champions four games before the end. I hope they support us now that we are going through a difficult period.”
Sky Sports co-commentator Jamie Carragher also pointed out how important Liverpool’s failure to beat Spurs will be in the race for Champions League qualification.
“From a Champions League qualification point of view, this is an absolute disaster for Liverpool,” said the former Reds defender. “Actually, they made Tottenham look like a decent team. Liverpool’s defense was really shocking.
“I’ve always said that Liverpool are sleepwalking into this. It was a terrible performance. I don’t mean to disrespect Tottenham, but they are the worst team in the Premier League at the moment, probably for the last few months.”
“These are exactly the kind of players who want to play at home and this weekend’s result will motivate them to perform like that, but it’s been the case all season.
“And the big question on everyone’s lips is, is it with the coach or the composition of the team? Can a new coach fully reinvigorate this type of player and bring that energy and some kind of intensity back into this team? I don’t know.
“I think a lot of it goes back to what happened in the summer and the profile of the players that came in, but there are too many players who just want to play when the ball is at their feet.
“They don’t want to dig in and make it difficult. That’s why it’s so easy to play against this Liverpool team.”
