Alan Shearer makes big statement about Liverpool title ambitions
By Matt Farr
BBC Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer claims Liverpool’s season is already over, despite their victory over Premier League title rivals Tottenham on Saturday.
Liverpool ran out comfortable 2-o winners at Anfield, ending a run of five games without a win, but Shearer insists that there is nothing left for them to play for.
The Reds are now 11 points adrift of league leaders Chelsea in the title race, while they have already bowed out of their remaining domestic competitions – at the hands of Southampton and Wolves.
Shearer believes that Liverpool’s high-pressing style of play under Jurgen Klopp has been the author of their downfall, despite its benefits in the final third.
Klopp’s side are currently the joint highest-scorers in the Premier League (with Arsenal) with 54 goals from their 25 games, but they have also conceded 30 goals – the highest of any side in the top seven.
In his column for the Sun, Shearer wrote that Liverpool have unknowingly sacrificed a tight defence for their attacking, high-pressing style, and it has cost them a shot at the Premier League title.
He said: “Part of the problem is that the attack and high pressing up the pitch has been at the expense of what happens at the other end.
“The defence is not good enough and neither is the goalkeeper – and that is something that needs to be addressed in the summer.
“They are just in a battle to finish in the top four, a mile away from making a title challenge. Outside of that there is nothing to play for.”
Another reason for their title race slump was a failure to see-off several of the sides battling at the bottom end of the table.
Liverpool were beaten by both Hull and Swansea during their recent winless run, while they have also dropped points against Bournemouth, Sunderland and Burnley throughout the remainder of the season.
They now face a fight to qualify for European football next season, having not been involved in either the Champions League or the Europa League this season.
In other Liverpool news, the club are reportedly set to solve this problem area with this £30million-rated Premier League winner.
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