As Klopp finally gets Reds over line
said Klopp. “We have worked very hard to get here and everything is good, but now we have to build on it.”
Relegated Boro kept their hosts on edge for 45 minutes with spirited resistance.
But after Georginio Wijnaldum made a crack in the wall on the stroke of half-time – racing on to a Roberto Firmino pass down the right, taking one touch and smashing a fierce shot inside Brad Guzan’s near post – it released such tension that the visitors crumbled. In the second half Philippe Coutinho added a second from a free-kick and Adam Lallana a third.
Things could have been a damned sight trickier for Liverpool had Boro been awarded a penalty halfway through the first half when Arsenal were up against Everton and Manchester City were disappearing over the horizon.
Quite what the outcome would have been then, had Martin Atikinson ruled Patrick Bamford had been wrestled down by Dejan Lovren in the penalty area after 23 minutes, is anybody’s guess.
Klopp thought it was a penalty and the suspicion is that the official, momentarily and crucially unsighted by a Liverpool player when Lovren tugged at the Boro player’s arm, almost certainly would have given it at the other end in front of The Kop.
It was not, he did not, and Liverpool needed no further invitation to build on their luck.
Fourth place means Liverpool face a twolegged play-off in August yet results elsewhere in Europe this weekend ensured they will be seeded when the play-off ties are drawn.
That means avoiding qualifiers from La Liga (Sevilla) and Serie A (Roma or Napoli).
Klopp was asked about the impact of their achievement. “It is a difference, of course, but it’s a sports thing,” he said. “Of course there’s money but it is the best tournament in Europe and probably the best in the world.
“Liverpool need to be there and consistently. We will be strong and we will fight for it in the play-offs. In the last 10 years we were not part of it too often.”
If the Anfield till will ring to the tune of £40million or more next season, Klopp and his sporting director Michael Edwards suddenly have a significantly more attractive hand to play in the summer transfer market. Klopp suggested most of that business was done but Champions League qualification means some of those deals can be concluded while he and his side travel to Sydney for a friendly in a whistle-stop trip leaving tomorrow.
LIVERPOOL Goals: (4-3-3): BORO (4-5-1):