Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp doesn't think they'll deserve a place back in the Champions League if they keep producing performances like the one which saw them end up drawing at home to Newcastle.
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The Reds' hopes of a top-four finish were dealt a blow on Saturday when midfielder Joe Willock scored an equaliser in the fifth minute of added time.
Mohamed Salah's 20th Premier League goal of the campaign, becoming the first Liverpool player to achieve that feat in three separate seasons, in only the third minute had looked like giving the hosts victory despite a host of missed chances.
Critics, of which there have been many this week in the wake of the club's involvement in the ill-fated Super League plans, may well enjoy the irony of the dent the result put in Liverpool's aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League.
After all, it is a competition their owners Fenway Sports Group were seemingly more than happy to abandon just six days ago.
For Klopp, however, the concern was that he did not think his side warranted a place among Europe's elite on this evidence.
"If we play like this and don't finish games like this off, why should we play Champions League?" he said.
"We want to deserve Champions League and we don't want to come and be cheeky, we want to earn it and with these results you don't earn it.
"It's all on the table so go for it. It feels close to being unacceptable but we have to accept it anyway.
"Very tough day - but there is no-one else to blame but ourselves."
Australian Associated Press
