Mohamed Salah 'totally devastated' as Liverpool miss out on Champions League
By Tom Gott
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah believes the Reds have 'let fans down' after their omission from next season's Champions League was confirmed.
A miserable first three-quarters of the campaign left Liverpool with too much work to do to climb back into the top four, with their run of seven wins and a draw in their past eight games not enough to close the gap.
Newcastle United sealed their spot in European football's most prestigious club competition at the weekend and Manchester United claimed the final place in the top four on Thursday with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
As for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp's side will have to make do with Europa League football next season - something Salah believes is not enough for the Reds.
"I’m totally devastated," Salah wrote on Twitter after United's victory. "There’s absolutely no excuse for this.
"We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down."
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Asked about Salah's message during Friday's press conference, Klopp was keen to play down the drama and insisted the Egyptian was right to be disappointed.
"I am just worried about the headlines you create," Klopp said."It's a fact we don't have Champions League, even I knew after last game, clear. I drew a line underneath it. I am optimistic but in that moment I couldn't see it.
"It's completely normal. This wasn't an historically good season. We made mistakes. I saw Mo an hour ago in the canteen and he was smiling. He wasn't in a bad mood."
Liverpool close their season out against bottom-side Southampton on Sunday with nothing to play for, having already confirmed fifth place in the Premier League table.