Klopp: ‘It wasn’t unexpected’
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp was disappointed but also proud of his players after a thrilling Premier League final that in the end did not result in a title for his team.
Sadio Mane and Mo Salah helped seal a win on the final day for Liverpool but Man City’s win means the Reds finish second.
Liverpool’s dreams of winning the Premier League were extinguished in the second half as Man City scored three goals in five minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2.
These results mean Liverpool finish second in the table, a point adrift of Man City.
The last time a team failed to win the top-flight title after leading the table on the final day was Liverpool themselves in 1989 when they lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal.
But this time their destiny was out of their hands as it needed Villa, managed by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, to pull off the unexpected and get something at the Etihad Stadium.
For 75 minutes it looked like they might just do that and with Mane’s 11th league goal at Anfield cancelling out Pedro Neto’s surprise opener there was a feeling that something special was happening.
But by the time Salah had put his side 2-1 up with his 23rd league goal – to share the Golden Boot with Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, City were ahead.
That required something special from Villa late on but the next goal came at Anfield where Andy Robertson stabbed home in the 89th minute.
Neto (3′), Mane (24′), Salah (84′), Robertson (89′)
