Only Manchester City can target the Premier League title, according to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Offering a similar stance to Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag, Klopp was discussing his own side’s title hopes for the coming season, dismissing any ambitions of taking the Premier League title from City.
Liverpool finished in the Europa League places last season after a disappointing campaign, where injuries prevented them from challenging City again for the title. They have lost influential trio Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino, but have added Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozslai to boost their midfield.
While Liverpool will be targeting a return to the Champions League, Klopp has played down any hopes of a title challenge, declaring that City are the only side who can realistically consider themselves title contenders.
Jurgen Klopp said: “‘Nobody besides maybe City can have the real target to become champions again this year. All the other teams fight for the Champions League and that’s what we do as well. The earlier you qualify for the Champions League, the higher you are in the table. If you are second and in striking distance to first then you might have a chance. I don’t know who will be there. We need points and a lot of them. Yes, a club the size of Liverpool has to be successful. Otherwise the club has to find different solutions. For us it’s not about that [the title]. It’s about Bayern, Darmstadt [friendly game] and then Chelsea [in the Premier League]. Those are the games I’m thinking about. As important as getting the best players together is creating an atmosphere and spirit and a common desire that we can really use as a basis to make the best possible season. If we do that we’ll be in a good place.”
