Thiago Alcantara has predicted that Liverpool will still finish in the Premier League’s top four this season.
The Reds have got work to do to finish in the Champions League places, currently sitting seven points adrift of fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur. They’ve also just crashed out of the Carabao Cup, losing to Manchester City last night.
But despite all that, Thiago is still confident that Liverpool will recover to claim a place amongst Europe’s elite.
“For sure [Liverpool will finish top four]. We are confident to arrive as far as we can in all competitions. [The break] will benefit us, it’s new air in our lungs, so yeah. I think the players that came from the World Cup will be a bit tired but at the same time they have more rhythm,” said the Spaniard via Sporting News, after yesterday’s defeat.
“But I think it’s a new era, a new moment for all of us. It never happened that the World Cup was in the middle of the season. We just have to learn and improve with that.”
We’re all behind you, Thiago!
Thiago expecting Reds revival
Thiago also answered some questions about why Liverpool had fallen so far below expectations so far this season.
“Well, the [exertions of the] season before, it was a World Cup in December, so it’s tricky to say what happened in the first half of the season. We just want to do it better and we will,” explained the 31-year-old.
“For sure, we all want to be better than the first half of the season — we work for it. I think today [against City] we did a high performance, physically as well. We’re just ready for the next part of the season.”
It’s easy to forget with everything going on, but Liverpool have only played 14 Premier League games this campaign.
That leaves fully 28 matches for them to put things right. The top four is not an insurmountable distance away for Liverpool, and they are more than capable of putting a good run of wins together.
That really has to start immediately, though. Last night was encouraging, but there is big worry in the fact that injuries keep on occurring. With Roberto Firmino now on the side lines, Jurgen Klopp only really has two fit forwards right now. Liverpool will have to navigate that. Thiago is confident that they can. Let’s hope he’s right.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
