Jurgen Klopp reveals pessimistic assessment of Liverpool's top-four chances

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that it is going to be difficult for his side to finish in the Premier League's top four this season if they continue to play so poorly.

The Reds were on the receiving end of a 4-1 mauling at Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, playing with passivity and a lack of aggression at the Etihad Stadium.

After Brighton and Brentford drew later in the day, Liverpool dropped to eighth in the table and are now seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

Klopp was asked about Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League post-match, but scoffed at such talk.

"Ooft. Top four? Come on. We cannot. I am a big believer that if you are good, you should win football games," he told talkSPORT.

"If you play well, that is when I get angry, and you don't win, decisions go against you, blah blah blah…

"But today, how can you win a football game like this when you play 45 minutes okay and the other 45 minutes really bad?

"You can't win a football game. So, nothing to do with top-four hopes. We have to make sure we have some consistency."

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He added: "Very frustrating. What can I say. I wouldn't say the first-half was outstanding but a game we have seen here before against City.

"City has more dominance, City has more of the ball but we are super aggressive and super difficult to defend counter-attacking moments.

"Maybe keep the ball then we control the game from our side. It is difficult for City to defend that then we have good spells with the ball."

Liverpool fixtures after Man City loss

The run-in doesn't get much easier for Liverpool. They travel to Chelsea - who, in fairness, are also well out of sorts - on Tuesday before facing league leaders Arsenal at Anfield next weekend.

Klopp's men will then have an eight-day rest before heading to Leeds and then taking on two further relegation battlers in Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

The Reds end April with a crunch match against top-four rivals Tottenham.

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