Tim Sherwood feels Liverpool losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League was ‘bad’ for Tottenham Hotspur. He backs the Reds and Spurs to fight for the Premier League top four.
Los Blancos completed a remarkable comeback to beat the Anfield natives 5-2 in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie. Darwin Nunez (4’) and Mohamed Salah (14’) put Jurgen Klopp’s XI ahead. But Vinicius Jr (21’, 36’), Eder Militao (47’) and Karim Benzema (55’, 67’) replied.
Mistakes from Thibaut Courtois and Alisson Becker in their respective nets contributed to some of the goals. The former let Salah double Liverpool’s lead over Real Madrid with his poor clearance. While the latter saw his failed clearance loop in off Vinicius to level at 2-2.
Sherwood now feels Liverpool’s season is over as Klopp’s squad have nothing to compete for with the tie effectively over. The Merseyside natives also rank just eighth in the Premier League table through 22 games. They have also fallen out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Manchester City eliminated Liverpool from the EFL Cup in December in a 3-2 Round of 16 affair. While Brighton & Hove Albion beat Klopp’s squad 2-1 in the FA Cup in January in a fourth-round meeting. The Reds have won three of their last 10 games in all competitions.
Sherwood sends Tottenham a warning amid his Liverpool ‘step backwards’ concerns
Liverpool are still in a race with Tottenham to finish in the top four of the Premier League table, though. Klopp’s team hold two games in hand over Antonio Conte’s side, who sit in fourth. The gap between the fourth and eighth-placed clubs is also currently seven points.
So, Sherwood feels Liverpool only having a top-four finish to focus on after losing to Real Madrid is ‘bad’ for Tottenham. Spurs face Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup. They also only trail AC Milan 1-0 after the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash.
Ex-Tottenham boss Sherwood does worry if Liverpool can motivate themselves just to fight for the top four, though. Yet this season is similar to 2020/21 when they finished third after exiting the FA Cup and EFL Cup in round four and Champions League in the quarter-finals.
“It was a tough evening in the end for Liverpool,” Sherwood told Sky Sports News (21/02, 10:08). “Their season is over. What [have] they got? They’ve got [the] top four now. It’s a bad result for Tottenham, who was in the top four.
“If they can get over this disappointment, they’ve got to focus on one thing now and that is getting into the top four. And that is very, very important.
“But for a team who’s been used to challenging for the Champions League and for the Premier League title. You need to motivate themselves to be able to just to get the top four. Is that success for Liverpool? It’s certainly a step backwards.”
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