‘Liverpool are not in a position to compete for a top-four spot,’ says Jurgen Klopp.

After a tense 2-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp dismissed suggestions that his team is in the race for the top four

The Reds extended their Premier League winning streak to three games in the capital, thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Joel Matip following Lucas Paqueta’s opener.

In the first half, Brazilian playmaker Paqueta scored a stunning opener for the Hammers, but Gakpo responded with his own long-range strike to draw the visitors level.

West Ham remained a threat on the break and had a goal by Jarrod Bowen ruled out for offside before Matip’s bullet header turned the tie on its head for the Reds.

Liverpool moved up to sixth place in the table with the win at the London Stadium, but they are still six points behind Manchester United – who have two games in hand – for the final Champions League spot.

With a win over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, Manchester United could extend their lead to nine points, while Ryan Mason’s side will relegate Liverpool to seventh place with at least a draw.

As a result, Klopp has refused to talk up his team’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League, instead focusing solely on the Premier League.

I can’t see the race just yet. That’s because we’re not in a position to compete. So the only thing we can do is win football games,” the German said following the game.

“If that puts pressure on other teams, we have no control over that because we don’t play them.” We play Tottenham – that’s it, I believe, from the teams above us. We’re done if they win all of their games. But I don’t consider it. I want us to finish the season as strong as possible.

“I’d like to take something away from the season for next year.” If that is European competition, that is fantastic. If not, we must accept it and move on.

Liverpool survived a late penalty shout at the London Stadium when the ball struck Thiago Alcantara’s hand in the area, prompting David Moyes to yell angrily with Chris Kavanagh after the final whistle.

“I thought he just fell on the ball, but I can see Moyesy seeing things differently.” In the end, if you look at the game, I believe we are the deserving winners, and that is very important to me.”

Meanwhile, Matip was making his 11th Premier League start of the season in place of Ibrahima Konate, who missed out due to a niggle, but Klopp does not expect the Frenchman to be out for long.

“Ibou had the opportunity to play. He’s not injured, but in the last two or three weeks, he’s had to rest for two days, one day, then half a session, and so on,” Klopp said of Konate.

“I thought we needed to make sure he could recover properly and wasn’t injured, so we left him at home completely.” That’s pretty much it.”

Liverpool now have three full days to rest before hosting fellow top-four outsiders Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool’s game against Aston Villa on Saturday could have been decided by Cody Gakpo’s disallowed goal

Liverpool’s game against Aston Villa on Saturday could have been decided by Cody Gakpo’s disallowed goal.

The Premier League has clarified an unusual VAR procedure that resulted in Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool equalizer being disallowed. The Reds were chasing the game against Aston Villa on Saturday, and while Roberto Firmino leveled the scores late on, Jurgen Klopp could have had all three points if Gakpo’s close-range strike had stood.

High-flying At Anfield, Villa made a dream start, with Jacob Ramsey volleying home at the back post to silence the home crowd. Nothing less than a win would suffice for Klopp and his team as they chase a top-four spot, with Manchester United and Newcastle comfortably ahead.

When Gakpo lashed into the bottom corner, they appeared to be given a lifeline, but after a lengthy VAR consultation, referee John Brooks determined that the goal could not stand. Despite the fact that the former PSV Eindhoven forward remained onside throughout the transfer, supporters were perplexed by the final decision.

Luis Diaz’s header back across goal was deflected by Ezra Konsa before landing at the feet of Virgil van Dijk, who was standing beyond the last line of defense but appeared to be played onside by Konsa’s deflection before crossing back in for the goal, but Brooks determined that the Villa defender’s contribution was not intentional.

The fact that Konsa did not intend to play the ball was crucial, according to a Premier League statement. “The VAR recommended a review,” it stated. “And referee John Brooks determined it was an unintentional deflection off Ezri Konsa, not a deliberate play.”

While Firmino scored a late equalizer in his last appearance at Anfield, the result was still a bitter blow for the Reds, who will most likely be forced to compete in Europe’s second-tier club competition next season.

After receiving a touchline ban for his comments about referee Paul Tierney last month, Klopp was forced to watch the game from the stands. Despite the uproar over Villa’s disallowed goal and a possible red card for Tyrone Mings, the German chose to ignore the issues after the final whistle.

Instead, Klopp took aim at Villa, who are also vying for a European spot under Unai Emery, for what he saw as time wasting. “The time wasting was… wow,” Klopp said.

“We saw the ball boys leave the country against Sevilla.” How long was the ball in play between Roma and Leverkusen? Everyone is doing it. We’ve seen it in a number of games this season. Nothing to do with today’s outcome.”

The Reds will finish the season with a trip to relegated Southampton next weekend, with Klopp admitting that his team has been too poor for far too long to merit fourth place.

Liverpool’s ‘New’ signing, according to Jamie Carragher, is a “waste of money.”

‘Waste of money,’ says Jamie Carragher of Liverpool’s ’embarrassing’ signing

This season’s midfield woes for Liverpool cannot be overstated.

When the summer window opens, Jurgen Klopp and his team will have to use their time and resources wisely.

To the chagrin of the Anfield faithful, the club’s long-running pursuit of Jude Bellingham recently came to an end.

With Carragher announcing the need to sign three midfielders over the next 12 months at the end of last season, it’s time to turn their attention to cheaper alternatives to the English teen.

Their transfer incompetence has been thrashed by supporters, and now Champions League winner Carragher has chastised the club for appearing ‘weak’ and ‘negligent’.

Jamie Carragher’s thoughts on

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher wrote for The Telegraph about how fans feel misled following their club’s withdrawal from their long-running Bellingham pursuit.

Liverpool will need ready-made reinforcements this summer if they are to regain their title-challenging form, which has been lacking this season.

Despite their interest in Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni, Liverpool must have been aware of the urgent need for a midfield renewal, according to his comments.

Arthur Melo, a last-minute loan signing by Klopp Carragher has called a “embarrassing climbdown” and a “waste of money,” enters the picture at this point.

“That is [Klopp’s] biggest mistake on this issue and he knows it,” Carragher wrote for The Telegraph. “The big giveaway that he realised his error in not recruiting before the last pre-season was the last-minute scramble for Arthur Melo on the final day of last August’s transfer window.”

Liverpool, a team based in Anfield, justified their financial outlay as a means of buying time while searching for a longer-term, world-beating midfielder.

“That deal was a money-wasting climbdown and embarrassing. Liverpool was waiting for the longer-term goal, which was the justification at the time.

Anfield’s disappointing tenure with Arthur Melo

The Brazilian international’s stay in Merseyside, where he paid a loan fee of £3.9 million, has been one to forget.

Melo has mostly played for Liverpool’s Under-21 team, making just one appearance for the senior team in their 1-0 loss to Napoli.

Transfer insider Dean Jones told GIVEMESPORT that their loaned midfielder Melo has been nothing more than a “panic buy.”

Since joining from Italian powerhouse Juventus, Melo’s absence from Anfield matches has been primarily due to injury.

The player in question will, unfortunately, probably return to Turin this summer because the venture was a failure for both parties.

The Anfield hierarchy will have to accept this as yet another hiring blunder, but all eyes will be on their summer transfer activity now that their pursuit of one of the biggest prospects in world football has come to a shaming end.