Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson nervous about the Champions League race
Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson is nervous about the Champions League race after Liverpool’s recent resurgence in form.
The Reds have won their last six league games, trimming the gap between them and the Magpies to three points. The latter do have a game in hand.
It was only a few weeks ago that Newcastle beat West Ham United 5-1 to open up a 12-point gap between them and Liverpool. Things have changed now.
Eddie Howe’s team are not the only one looking at their shoulders now. Manchester United are just a point ahead of Jurgen Klopp‘s men. The race for the third and fourth Champions League spots has all of a sudden become interesting. Here’s Wilson on that (h/t Footballer’s Football Podcast, via Liverpool Echo):
“Liverpool need to relax! I said I could smell [Champions League] a couple of weeks ago now that scent is gone. I don’t know where it’s gone. [Sniffs] I can’t find it!”
“That game [Newcastle 0-2 Arsenal] reiterates we’ve still got a bit of a way to go. We’ve got Leeds and Leicester to play and they’re both in a relegation battle. We need three wins out of four.”
If we talk about Liverpool’s viewpoint, they would have been happy to finish anywhere between sixth to eighth after the thumping defeat to Manchester City on the 1st of April.
Since then though, Klopp’s team have amassed 20 points from eight games, including a resilient comeback against Arsenal at Anfield.
Now, we have a situation that if either Newcastle or United slip up more, the Reds are in a position to take advantage and sneak inside the top four. For that to happen, they have to keep winning and beat Leicester City, Aston Villa and Southampton in the coming days.
On the balance of play and knowing that the two teams above have a game in hand, they should be classed as favourites to get the job done.
More Liverpool News:
- Jurrien Timber talks about his future amidst interest from Liverpool and Manchester United
- Liverpool are in talks with Jorg Schmadtke for a temporary support role only
- Arthur Melo confirms he will leave Liverpool and wants to play before saying goodbye
It is a testament to how well Liverpool have played in the last few weeks that we are even having a genuine discussion about the potential jeopardy of either team.