Florian Wirtz has sent a passionate message to his struggling Liverpool team-mates as the Reds prepare to survive a tough battle in the Premier League. Arne Slott’s side have just six top-flight games remaining this season after being kicked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
With a top-five finish far from assured, Liverpool have away games against Everton, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the final weeks of the season, as well as a home game against Chelsea at Anfield. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s first Merseyside derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Werts declared: “Next season we have to play in the Champions League. We owe it to the club and the fans. We have to accept the loss[to PSG]and move on. The focus is completely on the end of the season and the Premier League.”
His words were echoed by Ryan Gravenbirch, who, like Slott, spoke in a depressed tone as he reflected on Liverpool’s misfortunes throughout the season.
“We have to concentrate because Sunday is waiting for us. There are still six league games left and we just want to play in the Champions League next year as well, so we have to give it our all,” said head coach Grabenwerch.
“Last year a lot of things went our way and we had a little bit of bad luck. This year we actually feel like we’ve had a lot of setbacks. We conceded a lot of goals in the last minute and didn’t convert our chances when we were playing well. It’s just a tough season.”
“We made a big mistake (this season). Ultimately we want to win a trophy, but if we can’t do that in a season like this, we have no choice but to learn from it.”
Grafenberch could only take some solace from the fact that Liverpool produced a much improved performance in the second leg against PSG, despite suffering exactly the same disappointing result. In fact, the Dutchman declared that the way he was sent off against PSG, where he failed to score after 180 minutes, was unacceptable.
He continued, “I thought we played a good match, but it becomes difficult when we don’t take our chances. Is it acceptable to lose like this? No, actually not. It’s disappointing.”
Grafenberg captain Virgil van Dijk echoed his compatriot’s sentiments, admitting he was very depressed after the match. He added: “Knocking on the door is not enough. That’s the bare minimum, right? It’s a shame that we lost, but that’s the reality. It’s a shame that we lost, but PSG deserved to get through.”
“But we have a big game ahead of us (on Sunday). We all know how big it is. Obviously it’s going to be a tough game, but it’s something to look forward to. But at the moment, I’m just not in a good position because we’ve been knocked out of the Champions League.”
