Liverpool ‘have nothing to do’ with top-four race despite upturn in form, says Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool have “nothing to do” with the Champions League race, manager Jurgen Klopp insisted after the Reds narrowed the gap to six points with a win over Nottingham Forest.

It was Liverpool’s second Premier League win in a row and stretched their unbeaten run to four games, leaving them in seventh place with 50 points, six behind fourth-placed Newcastle, who have a game in hand.

“Honestly top four at the moment, we have nothing to do with it,” Klopp said to the BBC.

“We will see about that in a few weeks. The rest we have no influence.

“We take it game by game and we have West Ham next which is really tough and then we go from there. I am happy we got all three points again.”

But Klopp pointed out that the Portugal international’s performance wasn’t perfect.

“That’s what goals can do, they give you a boost and confidence. He did miss a sitter which was the easiest out of them all, but the second goal was very special,” Klopp said.

Liverpool also have Aston Villa and Tottenham between them and the top four, while Brighton are just one point behind with two games in hand.

Klopp was pleased with elements of his side’s performance but pointed to defensive deficiencies as an area for improvement.

“I liked that we stayed in the game and all this chaos around the throw-ins which you have to try to avoid,” he said.

“Too many situations, we couldn’t clear properly but apart from that I am really pleased with a lot of things.

“We gave away two goals too easy and in a game like this you have to control possession. You don’t have to force it and sometimes we forced it.”

The Anfield club face West Ham in London on Wednesday, before hosting Tottenham next Sunday.