03 March 2023 , 22:30
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Liverpool's top-four rivals are finally looking nervously over their shoulders - and Jurgen Klopp relishes it.
He wants his side to go out against Manchester United and punch home the fact the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle and even the Red Devils themselves “realise we are not completely gone”. Remarkably, despite two very different seasons, with the Old Trafford club lauded and Liverpool lambasted, victory at Anfield in the English ‘Clasico’ would put the Reds seven points behind their great rivals with 13 games remaining.
That offers an outside chance of third place, and Klopp insists his team is not dead yet. “The important thing about the chase is that the chase is not a one-day trip,” he explained.
“You really have to go for it. I have no clue what it means to (our rivals for the top four) but I think they realise already we are not completely gone.
“It is not that if we are in no man’s land. And that is clear. The other teams know we are still around and that's better than if they can’t see us any more.”
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Klopp’s instructions are clear - his side must treat the visit of United as a chance to prove they can produce another stunning run, as they did two seasons ago to come from nowhere to finish third.
Jurgen Klopp is fully focused on a top-four finish (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)He gave his pep talk ahead of the biggest clash in English football, declaring: “We don’t have to think about it, just go for it, go full throttle for it, go really into the game and try to win it somehow. A lot of good things have happened in the last few weeks, but because of the (Real) Madrid game, it doesn’t feel like that, but so far it goes in the right direction, but we have to make further steps.
“I saw before the last game, this is the week I would like to give the season a proper push. We did that and now we have to make the next step. Yes, victory can help the top-four push.”
Klopp has almost a full squad to choose from, with only Thiago and Luis Diaz missing, and both are set to return to training in the coming week.