Jürgen Klopp shifts focus to top-four fight as Chelsea head to Anfield | Andy Hunter


Liverpool’s manager is glad to have Fabinho and Diogo Jota back for a game that could be pivotal in Champions League race

In an uplifting tribute to Ian St John, the latest legend Liverpool have lost, Jürgen Klopp spoke of the almost child-like sense of awe he feels when meeting the old greats who shaped Anfield’s history. “To understand the club you have to meet as many as possible,” he said. “It is one thing what people inside or outside the club tell you, but you get completely different information from the players of the past. They know how it feels when you go out on the pitch and tell you these wonderful old stories. That is the petrol of dreams.”

Klopp and his players have fuelled and fulfilled many of their own at Liverpool, although they know now is not a time to dwell on their achievements. Whether there are more to come in next season’s Champions League depends on the extent of the recovery Liverpool produce this term. Qualification via the domestic route was a forlorn hope until a favourable set of results over the weekend, claimed Klopp. That sounded an exaggeration. Less so his admission that the Premier League champions are in a precarious fight with Chelsea and others to finish in the top four.

Related: Klopp will ban Liverpool players from internationals if they face quarantine

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