Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday, moving within six points of securing Champions League qualification next season, manager Arne Slot said after the match.
Slot, standing in for his players in the aftermath, described a match that summed up Liverpool’s season. "One that we haven't had yet and that's almost impossible because all the things we've experienced this season... you could write a book about it, as I said earlier," he said, and later added: "But we kept on fighting until the end and even scored for 3-1."
The result matters because Liverpool now have four matches remaining and sit just six points away from what would guarantee them a return to Europe's top club competition. A top-five finish will secure Champions League football, and Liverpool are a maximum of two wins away from confirming that finish.
The immediate arithmetic is simple: two victories from the final four matches — against Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brentford — would be enough to clinch the place. Opta calculates Brighton have less than a five per cent chance of overtaking Liverpool for the European spots, leaving the Reds heavily favoured on paper despite the tricky opponents ahead.
Context widens the picture. Liverpool sit fourth in the Premier League for the first time since January, and the remaining fixtures are against teams who still have plenty to play for. The run-in is commonly described as difficult because the Reds must still face rivals for European places and high-quality opposition; the results of those matches will determine whether the season is secured or stretched to its final day.
Tension crept in at Selhurst Park when Mohamed Salah limped off with a muscle injury during the Crystal Palace match. Egypt director Ibrahim Hassan claimed Salah could be out for a month, a timeframe that would overlap several of Liverpool’s most important remaining fixtures. Slot refused to offer a definitive prognosis, saying: "Every time I think now, OK, now there's nothing that can happen anymore that didn't happen yet. But we saw it today — a goalkeeper on the floor and then conceding a goal." He added: "The end result is, of course, positive that we were able [to win] in a game where we conceded a goal that you prefer not to concede — you never prefer to concede a goal — but not in this way."
The narrative tension is simple and sharp: Liverpool can be nearly certain of a Champions League place with a couple more wins, but they may have to do it without their leading attacker. That contradiction — being statistically close to qualification while uncertain about the availability of a key player — is the story for the next two weeks, especially with the Man Utd fixtures and other tests lined up.
Slot framed the mood plainly. "That's a very positive thing," he said of the team's ability to grind out the result, but the question hanging over Liverpool is immediate and consequential: will Salah be fit for the matches that now decide their season?
