Mohamed Salah ‘totally devastated’ as Liverpool fail to secure Champions League qualification

By India Today Sports Desk: Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah has expressed his disappointment that Liverpool failed to secure a place in the 2023-24 Champions League.

Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Chelsea sealed the last qualifying spot and propelled Liverpool into the Europa League. Salah took to Twitter to share his frustration over Liverpool’s fifth place.

In his tweet, Salah wrote: “I am totally devastated. There is 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 qualification for the competition is the clue”. minimum. Sorry, but it’s too early for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down.”

Liverpool, who finished a point behind Premier League champions Manchester City last season, suffered from injuries and a series of poor performances this year. Although Liverpool showed good form in their final stretch, winning eight of their last nine games, they were unable to overcome top four contenders Manchester United and Newcastle.

This disappointment marks the first time Liverpool will miss out on the Champions League since the 2016-17 season. With their fifth place confirmed, Liverpool’s season will conclude with a visit to already relegated Southampton, allowing manager Jurgen Klopp to rotate his squad.

Klopp acknowledged that his team has fallen short in recent seasons and stressed the need to embrace their participation in the Europa League. Despite reaching three Champions League finals, with one win, in the last five years, Klopp admitted that Liverpool had not been good enough.

The Liverpool manager expressed his determination to make the Europa League his competition, appreciating the challenge of qualifying amid tough competition. He reflected on Liverpool’s struggle to even hear the sound of the Champions League, saying the Europa League provides an opportunity to showcase their abilities.

“We will do it [the Europa League] our competition,” Klopp told BBC Sport. “I’m not that pampered. That we are already qualified for the Europa League is incredible with all these teams around us. That’s very difficult and we did it, that’s good.

“For so long we couldn’t even hear the sound of the Champions League, that’s how far away we were. The Europa League is absolutely fine. Let’s see what we can do.”