Jurgen Klopp urges caution over Liverpool’s chances of lifting quadruple

Klopp
By James Pearce
Jan 25, 2024

Jurgen Klopp has played down talk of Liverpool pulling off an unprecedented quadruple this season.

Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Fulham on aggregate set up a final showdown with Chelsea in the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium next month.

Two years ago, Liverpool beat the west London side in both domestic cup finals before falling agonisingly short in pursuit of Premier League and Champions League glory.

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Once again they find themselves competing on four fronts – top of the Premier League, in the last 16 of the Europa League and preparing to entertain Norwich City in the FA Cup on Sunday.

“I didn’t think about it to be honest because we are far off,” Klopp said.

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“We have qualified for one final. It makes no sense to plan the next one before you have played the first one.

“The competitions are not made so that someone wins all of them. It’s just the number of games. I saw that the final (of the Carabao Cup) is on February 25 and if we win on Sunday then the next round of the FA Cup will be three days after that final.

“It’s very unlikely we reach all three finals, it’s just the nature of it. If we did then everyone would ask ‘what does it mean for next season?’

“After we did that (in 2021-22), obviously it wasn’t great. Only one of the 500 reasons was that we had played all the finals and the league went down to the last match.

“We don’t need to worry about that now. I’m just happy we were able to qualify for a final. The response in the dressing room was really cool. It was really nice to see what it meant to the boys.”

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Klopp joked that his close friend David Wagner, the Norwich City boss, had asked for “massive rotation” from Liverpool on Sunday.

Andy Robertson will make his first appearance after three months out with a dislocated shoulder, while Liverpool are waiting to see if Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are passed fit to make their comebacks.

“There’s a chance for all of them but it’s touch and go,” Klopp added.

“Robbo is physically ready. He’s in completely normal team training, like Dom will be from tomorrow onwards.

“For Trent, is it Norwich or the game after? We’ll have to see. He was not in parts of team training yet.  It would be very helpful if they could all be involved.”

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(Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

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James Pearce

James Pearce joins the Athletic after 14 years working for the Liverpool Echo. The dad-of-two has spent the past decade covering the fortunes of Liverpool FC across the globe to give fans the inside track on the Reds from the dressing room to the boardroom. Follow James on Twitter @JamesPearceLFC