LIVERPOOL rose from the dead to snatch third place in the Premier League on the final day of the season – and Gary Neville simply couldn’t believe it.
The Reds lost six straight games at Anfield between January and March as they looked destined to not only miss out on Champions League qualification, but all European football entirely.
But Jurgen Klopp’s squad fought until the bitter end, winning eight and drawing two of their final ten games as they roared back up the table.
Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on the final day of the season to confirm their spot in the top four.
But with Leicester and Chelsea both losing – to Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively – the Reds ended up third, just ONE place behind Manchester United.
The Red Devils, Neville’s old team, enjoyed arguably their best season post-Sir Alex Ferguson.
Meanwhile, Liverpool lost all three of their senior centre-backs – Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip – to season-ending injuries early in the campaign.
Klopp was forced to turn to unlikely heroes Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams, while often deploying Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in defence.
And for the Reds to end up so close to United left Neville almost speechless.
Speaking on Sky Sports, a stunned Neville squeaked: “Have they finished third? How’s that happened?”
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When asked if he thought it was an ‘amazing achievement’, Nev did confess: “It is… it is. I know, I was joking then.
“But for them, losing Van Dijk had a massive impact on Liverpool.
“But it also had a massive impact on City, because they knew Liverpool couldn’t come back from it, they were out [of the title race].
“For Liverpool to come back from those six home defeats on the bounce… I mean, wow.
“To come back the way they have, you need to give them real credit.”
Reflecting on his side’s incredible comeback, Klopp told Sky Sports: “I’m so proud of what they’ve done the last ten or 15 games and the reaction of the team in bad times.
“Eight wins out of ten, two draws… that’s impressive.
“Energy makes all the difference and we got a lot of energy from [the fans].
“It was not our year for the championship but I’m really happy with third place.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
