Jota makes admission on Liverpool's Champions League hopes

As Liverpool now face a stern battle to finish in the top-four, Diogo Jota admits they are the cause of their current predicament.

Diogo Jota admits Liverpool didn’t do their job properly during recent setbacks at home and abroad, with the 2019-20 Premier League champions now sweating on a top-four finish.

Injury problems and collective dips in form have conspired against the Reds this season, with uncharacteristic struggles leaving them sixth in the top flight and empty-handed on the trophy front.

Champions League qualification can still be secured, but regular setbacks have been suffered and Jurgen Klopp’s side are relying on others to slip up with five fixtures of the current campaign remaining.

Asked by Liverpool’s official website on whether every game has become a cup final for the Reds, Jota said: “I’ve been mentioning that since we had 10 games left – I said if we did our job I thought we were going to get it.

.@DiogoJota18 is eagerly anticipating his first experience of encountering @ManUtd as a Red 👇
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 30, 2021

“But now with five to go, we didn’t do our job properly and it’s not only about us now. But if we don’t do our bit, it’s impossible.

“So we need to do [that] and hope for the results to go our way. We know it’s going to be hard but we need at least to be doing our job.”

Anfield was once a fortress for Klopp’s side, but points have been dropped with alarming regularity on home soil this season.

That was the case last time out against Newcastle, when domination for long periods only delivered a 1-1 draw, and Jota admits that a ruthless streak needs to be rediscovered.

The Portuguese forward added: “We all felt it [the draw with Newcastle] like a defeat, speaking for me, but I think it was pretty much everyone’s feeling as well.

“For example, the last two games at half-time we were winning 1-0, like Wolves. But the difference against Wolves was that we won at the end. In these two games we conceded, we played not-so-good second halves and we conceded. Then everything feels bad.

“Now this is the final third of the season and we know the results are the most important thing, so we need to avoid being so passive in the second halves because we need the results.”