‘Horrible’ – Jurgen Klopp makes Liverpool ‘champion’ admission after seeing Premier League title dreams suffer devastating blow in derby defeat at Everton

The Reds headed into a Merseyside derby date with their cross-city rivals clinging to hope that a bid for domestic glory could still be pieced together before their talismanic German coach walks away at the end of the season.

A disappointing display at Goodison Park ended in a 2-0 defeat, with Klopp telling beIN Sports afterwards when reflecting on what went wrong: “We were not good enough. We gave Everton the game they wanted. Both goals are from set-pieces. We started alright and the first offensive action they have ended in a goal [penalty award], which was disallowed for offside. We have to look in the mirror, we have to be really critical of ourselves. Our counter press was horrible. We were not good enough.”

Klopp added when asked if Liverpool are still in the title race, with a three-point gap separating them from leaders Arsenal while reigning champions Manchester City have two games in hand: “I don’t care the moment. It’s not about that, we first have to win football games. We have to play better. I don’t think a champion should play like us today. That’s my honest opinion. Maybe there were times in the past when it didn’t need 90-odd points and you could play like that.”

Liverpool face a quick turnaround before taking in a trip to West Ham on Saturday lunchtime. They have just four games left on their schedule for 2023-24, with two of those set to see them face top-four hopefuls in the form of Aston Villa and Tottenham.