Manchester City are the only team that can realistically aim to win the Premier League title this season, says Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool had a disappointing campaign last term in which they finished fifth in the league and failed to win a trophy – and now Klopp appears to be throwing in the towel and lowering expectations a fortnight before the new season starts.
‘Nobody besides maybe City can have the real target to become champions again this year,’ said Klopp, speaking in Singapore ahead of Liverpool’s friendly against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
‘All the other teams fight for the Champions League and that’s what we do as well. The earlier you qualify for the Champions League, the higher you are in the table. If you are second and in striking distance to first then you might have a chance. I don’t know who will be there.
‘We need points and a lot of them. Yes, a club the size of Liverpool has to be successful. Otherwise the club has to find different solutions.
Manchester City won the Premier League title for the fifth time in six seasons in May
Jurgen Klopp has claimed City are the only team that can target winning the league this term
‘For us it’s not about that (the title). It’s about Bayern, Darmstadt and then Chelsea. Those are the games I’m thinking about.
‘As important as getting the best players together is creating an atmosphere and spirit and a common desire that we can really use as a basis to make the best possible season. If we do that we’ll be in a good place.’
After that below-par season last term, Klopp admitted Liverpool’s defending must improve if they are to return to the Champions League places and close the gap on City and Arsenal.
‘From the first day we have been back for pre-season, I’ve tried to make it really clear our defending has to be at a completely different level to last season,’ he said. ‘We had better do that tomorrow or we will have real problems.
‘It is the most difficult game for us tomorrow, definitely. We saw footage of Bayern’s previous games in Japan including against Manchester City.
‘Bayern are traditionally a really good team. They have four world-class centre-halves, two world-class midfield pairings, speed up front and technique, finishing s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s. That’s quite impressive.
‘But we want a strong opponent so this is definitely the toughest test for us this pre-season. That’s what we need at this moment. I’m excited. I am able to see where we are, how we can adapt to the quality of the opponent.’
