Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Michael Owen think Liverpool's title hopes are over following their 2-0 loss at Everton on Wednesday.
Liverpool are three points behind leaders Arsenal and have an inferior goal difference, while Manchester City are a point behind Liverpool and have two matches in hand.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
"This is the end of the title run for Liverpool," Carragher told Sky Sports of his former club. "They just have to make sure they finish the season strongly.
"They had enough chances in the game but at the moment they are not clinical enough in both boxes.
"I don't think you can get too angry with the team or Jurgen Klopp. It's been a great ride and a great journey. But tonight is Everton's night and you have to take it on the chin."
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Neville: Liverpool will know it's gone
Eight-time Premier League title-winner Neville says it's not mathematically over but that he cannot see Liverpool being champions.
"It's going to be very difficult for them to win the league," he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
"It's not over because things can happen - Brighton could somehow beat Manchester City and Arsenal could lose in the north London derby.
"But I think they'll go into that dressing room tonight and it'll be a sullen atmosphere. They'll know it's probably gone.
"That's where I'd be at. I can't see them winning the title from here. It would be difficult anyway but from here? No.
"In my mind, you'd almost have to be perfect if you were Liverpool and Arsenal, and I think losing tonight is a real problem for them."
Owen: Lowest I've felt in a while
Owen, the 11th-highest scorer in Premier League history and a former Liverpool striker, cannot believe how quickly Liverpool's season has come apart.
There was talk of a Quadruple after they won the EFL Cup in February. But they have since been knocked out of the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League, as well as losing two of their last three Premier League matches to lose control of the title race.
"It's the lowest I've felt for a while. It's quite painful," said Owen.
"You get so excited by the season. About a month ago I was thinking, 'Can Liverpool win all four [trophies]?' All of a sudden it's all gone. It's hard to take. Liverpool fans all around the world are feeling drained, and Klopp does too. He must be going to bed thinking, 'Do we have anything to play for now?'
"It's going to be a long month. They'll keep fighting, no doubt about it, but it's looking like a forlorn hope. It's not the way Klopp wanted his tenure to end. They're three points behind Arsenal with same games played, so you can never say never.
"But the goal difference, they're never going to gain 15 goals on Arsenal. So really you can say that's a four-point difference [to Arsenal]. Are Arsenal going to drop four points? Potentially. But Man City aren't. I can't see it [Liverpool winning the title]."
Klopp: We need a City and Arsenal crisis
Klopp agrees that Liverpool need a "crisis" from their title rivals but that any dropped points from Arsenal and Man City won't count for anything if his team continue to underperform.
"We need a crisis at Man City and Arsenal," Klopp said. "If they start losing their games and we do what we did tonight, nothing changes. We're not safe in the Champions League [places] as well."
Virgil van Dijk says Wednesday's display suggests his team have "no chance" of winning the title. But the Liverpool captain issued a rallying call to his team-mates.
"We are fighting, there are games after tonight," Van Dijk told Sky Sports. "But play like we did overall in the game like today - not winning challenges and giving the ref an opportunity to give a free-kick - then you have no chance to win a title.
"We can't let the season go out like this."