Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned his side that they must find consistency lest they risk failing to qualify for the Champions League altogether after Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Leeds United.
The Reds' underwhelming start to the season reached a low ebb on Saturday evening, as Leeds ended their 29-game unbeaten run at Anfield in the Premier League.
A mix-up between Joe Gomez and Alisson Becker presented Rodrigo with a gift of an opening goal in the first few minutes, but Mohamed Salah restored parity for Liverpool not long after.
However, as Klopp's side continued to be thwarted by an inspired Illan Meslier, Leeds youngster Crysencio Summerville poked home in the dying embers for Jesse Marsch's charges.
On the eve of his 21st birthday, Summerville sent the away end into pandemonium to ease the pressure on his manager and inflict Liverpool's first Premier League defeat at Anfield since March 2021 upon them.
Having now lost back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time in 19 months, Liverpool find themselves languishing in ninth in the table with 16 points from a possible 36.
Table-toppers Manchester City hold a 13-point lead over Liverpool, and the Reds' gap to the top will increase to 15 points if Arsenal return to the summit by getting the better of Nottingham Forest.
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Klopp has already admitted that his side cannot be considered contenders for the Premier League title this season, but he told the press after the defeat to Leeds that he is not "dumb" and is concerned about his side's prospects of finishing in the top four.
"Yeah, that's actually not my main worry in the moment because there are a lot of other worries but yeah, of course," Klopp responded when asked if he was fearing for his side's place in the Champions League.
"I am at least not that dumb that I don't know distances and I know who is up there, but you cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistent as we do in the moment.
"So, how I said, we have to fix that and we will see where we end up. We all know that everything is possible, or a lot of things are possible, but for that you have to win football games and we didn't do that often enough yet."
Liverpool have been plagued by multiple injury problems at the start of the season, and Klopp admitted that he is being pressed to rush players back from their physical woes but did not want to use the brimming treatment room as an excuse.
"There is no excuse for it or whatever but we have the problem from the first day with injuries or half-fit players who are not injured. So that's what we carry with us in the moment and that's why some players play too often and other players have to play too early," Klopp added.
Liverpool have not finished outside of the top four since the 2015-16 season, where they placed eighth in Klopp's debut year, but they are already through to the knockout rounds of this season's Champions League.
The Reds will finalise their group-stage campaign at home to Napoli on Tuesday before tackling Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League next weekend.
Ben Knapton
