On Wednesday, Liverpool suffered a 2-0 defeat against Everton in their visit to Goodison Park, significantly complicating their chances in the Premier League title race.
The match at Goodison Park commenced with fervor from the home side, who even managed to force a penalty that was subsequently overturned due to an offside call. Liverpool's goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, narrowly escaped trouble on that occasion; however, he couldn't prevent conceding in the 27th minute when Jarrad Branthwaite capitalized on a chaotic situation from a set-piece to score from close range.
Although there were uncertainties surrounding the goal due to VAR review, the 1-0 scoreline eventually stood in a stadium that hadn't witnessed a Merseyside derby victory since 2010. Darwin Núñez came close to equalizing in the 35th minute with a low drive, and Luis Díaz also came close with another attempt just before halftime.
Nevertheless, Jordan Pickford made two crucial saves to deny Liverpool, maintaining his stellar performance into the second half. Liverpool's attack faltered, and to compound their woes, they conceded the second goal in the 58th minute, courtesy of a powerful header by Dominic Calvert-Lewin from a corner.
This defeat left Jürgen Klopp's side with 74 points, still in second place, but having played two more matches than third-placed Manchester City, who sit at 73 points. At the top of the table, Arsenal leads with 77 points from the same number of matches as Liverpool.
Liverpool's manager, Jürgen Klopp, apologized to the team's supporters after the 2-0 defeat against Everton in the Merseyside derby, a result that virtually extinguishes their hope of winning the Premier League title.
"The leaders Arsenal and Manchester City must be having a very tough time," said Klopp, visibly distraught, when asked about his team's chances. "I don't know. I can only apologize for today to the people. Everyone who is with us also knows how difficult this was for us. We should have done better, but we didn't."
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in a 2-0 victory that Everton faithful at Goodison Park will remember for a long time, chanting "They lost the league at Goodison Park" to the visiting fans after the final whistle.
It was Everton's first home derby victory in over 13 years and halted Liverpool's pursuit of the top spot alongside Arsenal. Klopp's men are now three points behind Arsenal (with 77 points) with four games remaining under the beloved coach's tenure. Defending champions Manchester City closely trail with 73 points but have played two fewer matches.
Klopp after the game
"We are obviously very disappointed with many things. We let exactly the game Everton wanted happen. Two goals from set-pieces. We created a lot but didn't score. We were in a hurry, not clear enough. We weren't good enough, that's what we have to admit, absolutely," Klopp said, as quoted by Reuters.
"Of course, I didn't expect that today, but it happened. Clearly, we are not in the best moment. In the end, you're not good enough. When you win, you have 500 reasons. When you lose, you're just not good enough."
"These games especially are always a big fight, and something that we shouldn't have lost"
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was forthright in his assessment, telling Sky Sports, "We had to do much better. If we play like today, we have no chance of considering ourselves in the title race."
Klopp's side will visit West Ham United on Saturday before facing Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final three matches.
And afterwards Van Dijk reflected on an evening of frustration and admitted his side's performance had fallen short of the required standard: "[It was] unnecessary," the captain told Sky Sports. "These games especially are always a big fight, and something that we shouldn't have lost, in my opinion. "But we did, and now we have to pick ourselves up and be ready for an early kick-off [against West Ham United] on Saturday." Van Dijk continued: "[In the second half] you try to force things, and I think we gave too many crosses where they could just clear easily. I still think in the first half we had clear-cut chances that we should have scored.
Liverpool, who boasted 77% possession and seven shots on target compared to Everton's six, won the League Cup earlier this season, leaving the Premier League as the only remaining trophy contention after exits from the FA Cup and Europa League.