Klopp says Liverpool will take Europa League seriously

Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp says he will treat the Europa League with respect should the Reds qualify for the second tier continental competition.

The 2019-20 Premier League champions are currently sixth on the table, four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea in the final Champions League qualification spot with five games to play.

As a result, Liverpool appear destined to play in the Europa League in 2020-21 for the first time since 2015-16.

“Since I am in England we have only played in the Europa League once and we went to the final [in 2016 against Sevilla], so it was good apart from the final,” Klopp said. “Last night I saw a Man United team enjoying the Europa League a lot.

“It depends obviously which competition you are in and the circumstances around it, but it was always like this. We will not think ‘my God now we have to play that’.

“It is a great competition and I haven’t thought it through to the end because I know even though it is not likely that there is a little chance [for the Champions League] as well, so let’s give a try and think about what happens next season.”

The Reds take on second-placed Manchester United on Sunday in the league as they bid to keep alive their top four aspirations.

“Five wins won’t be enough, it depends how the other teams do obviously, but without five wins we don’t have a chance,” Klopp said.

“Man United still think they can become champions, rightly so, so we think we can still go to the Champions League, but we need results in other games. We know that.”

“With as much power as we have as a unit we should try to use this moment and I really hope it has an impact.”

An important message from Jürgen Klopp on this weekend’s Social Media boycott.#RedTogether pic.twitter.com/bNFyFAIAmu

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 30, 2021