'Have they finished THIRD? How's that happened?': Gary Neville stunned by Liverpool's PL place

‘Have they finished THIRD? How’s that happened?’: Gary Neville stunned by Liverpool’s Premier League place before admitting Jurgen Klopp’s resurgent Reds deserve ‘real credit’ for making the top four after horror run

  • Liverpool’s nightmare season ended on good terms with a third-place finish
  • Gary Neville was left stunned when assessing the final Premier League table
  • He said Liverpool deserve ‘real credit’ for how they finished their campaign 


They say the table never lies but in Liverpool’s case in 2020-21, it certainly clouds the bigger picture.

And perhaps nothing summed that up more than Gary Neville’s staggered reaction to Liverpool’s third-place finish in the Premier League once the curtain fell over the most recent campaign. 

Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, combined with Chelsea and Leicester’s respective defeats to Aston Villa and Tottenham, saw Jurgen Klopp’s men safely cemented into the top four.

Gary Neville couldn't hide his shock at Liverpool finishing third in the Premier League table

Gary Neville couldn’t hide his shock at Liverpool finishing third in the Premier League table

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp pictured celebrating at Anfield on Sunday after making the top four

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp pictured celebrating at Anfield on Sunday after making the top four

Neville had been at Manchester City’s 5-0 win over Everton on Sunday and after the Premier League title celebrations had eased, he couldn’t hide his shock when he assessed the final standings with Sky Sports.

‘Have they finished third? Have they finished third? How has that happened?’ Neville exclaimed. 

Once he’d gotten over the surprise, Neville admitted that Klopp and Liverpool deserved great praise for turning their season around.

When last season’s Premier League champions lost at home to Fulham on March 7, Liverpool were languishing in eighth place in the table having also lost at Anfield to Brighton, Manchester City, Everton and Chelsea. 

Speaking later that month, Klopp admitted he felt it was unlikely Liverpool would qualify for next season’s Champions League, telling BILD: ‘I like to be an optimist, but in the league it is almost impossible to qualify in the competition for the Champions League places that we have.’

But in their last 10 matches, Liverpool have won eight and drawn two to surge up the table. 

Furthermore, Klopp has had to contend with injuries to an array of key players across the campaign with the most significant case being Virgil van Dijk’s season-ending knee injury sustained in the Merseyside derby last October. 

Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace thanks to two goals from forward Sadio Mane (left)

Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace thanks to two goals from forward Sadio Mane (left)

Liverpool endured a difficult 2020-21 but can now put a tumultuous campaign behind them

Liverpool endured a difficult 2020-21 but can now put a tumultuous campaign behind them

‘It is (an amazing achievement),’ Neville added. ‘Honestly, for them to lose Van Dijk – it 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.

‘And once Liverpool were out that was it, they knew there was no one else equipped to compete with them 

‘For Liverpool to come back from those six home defeats on the bounce – wow, champions losing six on the bounce at home. To come back the way in which they have, you have to give them real credit.’

Liverpool defeated Palace 2-0 thanks to a goal in each half from attacker Sadio Mane. 

source: dailymail.co.uk