Jamie Carragher has given his verdict on Liverpool’s chances of rescuing a top four finish in the Premier League after their 6-1 thrashing of Leeds tonight.
The result ended a five-match winless run in all competitions and narrowed the gap on fourth-placed Newcastle to nine points with eight games remaining.
It still looks a tall order for the Reds to salvage a Champions League place for next term, although the Magpies’ clash with fifth-placed Tottenham next Sunday will see at least one of those dropping points.
Nonetheless, Carragher still fears that Liverpool’s inconsistent nature throughout the campaign will manifest itself again on a few occasions.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of tonight’s game at Elland Road, the 45-year-old said in relation to the Reds’ top four hopes: “Jurgen Klopp said it – if the other teams do their job, they’ve got no chance, but Newcastle play Tottenham at the weekend. When these games come up, the result has to go for them in terms of that being a draw.”
He continued: “If Liverpool play like that and have a consistent run of performances and get anywhere close to that tonight, most of the games you feel they should win.
“But, as we saw with the graphic tonight, it’s the first time they’ve beaten someone below them away from home in the league this season.
“The problem is, you can’t trust Liverpool, and you’ve never been able to trust them since the first game of the season at Fulham.
“That’s not changed and that’s why I still think, between now and the end of the season, we’ll still see two or three performances that leave you scratching your head.”
If we can defeat Nottingham Forest next weekend and Newcastle lose to Spurs, bringing the gap to fourth down to six points, it’d offer hope that a late-season surge is possible.
The key will be to produce a performance like tonight on a more regular basis, particularly with just two of our final eight matches coming against teams currently above us in the table.
You can see Carragher’s verdict in full below, courtesy of @footballdaily on Twitter:
🗣️ "So you're saying there's a chance?" 👀🤣@Carra23 has his say on whether Liverpool can make a final push for top four this season pic.twitter.com/UhO83wPsKT
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 17, 2023