Liverpool hammer United as top-four battle intensifies
MANCHESTER: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he has enjoyed chasing teams throughout his career as the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League goes down to the final three games of the season.
Liverpool moved within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand after Thursday’s 4-2 Premier League victory over Manchester United.
The Merseyside club were already crowned champions at this stage last season but Klopp said he still enjoys playing catch-up to the sides ahead of him in the closing stages of the campaign.
“Most of the time I’ve been in a chasing role so I’m enjoying it,” Klopp said. “It hasn’t happened a lot to me that the teams I’ve coached were running away or whatever, so it’s a normal situation. Last night was very much needed, but it gave us a good feeling as well. After a long season, playing Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday is a tough one, but let’s give it a try.”
If Liverpool win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday they will close to within one and three points respectively of FA Cup finalists Chelsea and Leicester City, who still have to play each other in the league at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Klopp knows if Liverpool win all their games—and overhaul Leicester’s goal difference advantage of one—they will secure a top-four finish and a place in Europe’s elite competition next season. “These three games can have an extremely positive outcome,” Klopp added. “But we don’t now make the second step before the first.”
Klopp once again played down Sadio Mane’s handshake snub after the game at Old Trafford where the forward was dropped to the substitutes’ bench.
The German coach said his relationship with Mane has been built on mutual respect and one incident will not have any impact on that. “If somebody shows me respect five million times, and one time not, what is more important?” Klopp added. “The world is in a situation where you then make this one time bigger than necessary. That’s unfortunately the case.”
Real sink Granada
GRANADA: Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
Despite missing a number of first team regulars, Real started the stronger and first-half strikes from Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the visitors in control.
Such was their dominance that even when Jorge Molina halved the deficit on 71 minutes, tapping in after Thibaut Courtois had kept out Luis Suarez’s initial effort, they rarely looked troubled.
Substitute Alvaro Odriozola restored Real’s two-goal advantage, slamming in from fellow substitute Eden Hazard’s pullback after 75 minutes.
Less than 60 seconds later Karim Benzema made it four after Granada keeper Rui Silva came out but failed to deal with a ball over the top, allowing the Frenchman to fire into an empty net from distance.
“It’s not just about scoring goals. We played well in defence, too,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane said. “It was a really complete game. We didn’t get overrun at 2-1 and scored quickly after and that shows what character this side have. It was a great win against a tough opponent at a difficult place to come to. We are going to give our all in the two remaining games, until La Liga is finished.”
Real moved into second place on 78 points, two behind leaders Atletico Madrid with two games left to play. Barcelona are third, two points adrift of Real.
Dortmund win Cup
BERLIN: Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland both netted twice on Thursday as Borussia Dortmund won the German Cup with an emphatic 4-1 win over RB Leipzig to spoil Julian Nagelsmann’s hopes of leaving with a title. Dortmund turned on the style at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, converting all of their three first-half shots on target to sweep Leipzig aside as Sancho netted twice either side of a superb Haaland goal.