20 May 2023 , 21:53
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Jurgen Klopp was left fuming with Aston Villa's time wasting as they left Anfield with a point.
Liverpool notched a late equaliser courtesy of Roberto Firmino, who was playing in his last ever home game as a Red. Jacob Ramsey had given Villa a first-half lead and the visitors were within minutes of holding onto their lead, but Klopp was unimpressed with the tactics they employed.
The German had an issue with how long Unai Emery's men took to over free-kicks, goal kickings and throw-ins. Eventually the hosts were able to get the goal they craved, but Klopp maintained that too often teams had been allowed to run down the clock.
He said after the stalemate: "The time wasting was... wow. We saw against Sevilla the ball boys left the country, Roma against Leverkusen, how long was the ball in play? "Everybody's doing it. We've seen in many games this season. Nothing to do with the result today."
Liverpool's point saw them lose ground in the race for the top four and puts Manchester United and Newcastle firmly in the driving seat. The two sides are well placed to be in the Champions League whilst the Reds will have to make do with Thursday's Europa League.
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The Reds had put together an impressive winning run, but that was ended by Villa, who themselves are looking to qualify for the Europa League. Klopp confessed that, after a hugely inconsistent season, Liverpool were perhaps not deserving of a spot at Europe's top table next term.
Jurgen Klopp was frustrated by Aston Villa's time wasting ((Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))He claimed: “I think the whole season is rather a season where we qualify for Europa League than for Champions League. We were for too long not good enough or ourselves."
Firmino was the man to come up with the goods for Liverpool on a day that was very much about him. He is one of four men who will leave Anfield this summer, but the Brazilian's efforts have been integral in their success and Klopp hailed the fans' gestures.
He added: “What the people did anyway, like the mural for Bobby Firmino... I don’t know when I was the last time that touched. Yesterday we drove to the stadium because we leave our cars here and then you pass that and it’s not finished yet, it was in the middle of something, and you think, ‘Wow’.
“How often these people do the right things in the right moment is absolutely insane. It was a big, big gesture and Bobby was really [touched]. It’s a big gesture, I have to say, really big.”