Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool can handle the pressure of top-four race

Jurgen Klopp is confident Liverpool will thrive under the pressure as the race to secure a Champions League position heats up.

Ahead of this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures, the Reds are third in the table – three and four points ahead of Manchester City and Man United respectively.

Liverpool suffered a disappointing defeat at home to Crystal Palace two weeks ago but responded with a hard-fought win over Watford on Monday evening.

‘Since I have been here we had one semi-final defeat,’ Klopp, who welcomes Southampton to Anfield on Sunday, said.

‘[We had] a very good performance against Man City in the EFL Cup final – that was not about not handling pressure.

‘Yes, we did not win the penalty shoot-out, but if this is about not handling pressure I don’t know what you think it says about England teams over the years.

‘Everybody would say that is more luck than pressure. We had the [Europa League] semi-final against Villarreal and handled the pressure, world class.’

Klopp added: ‘We talk about one game and then forget five or six other games where we handled pressure really well.

‘So far I haven’t seen a sign that we cannot handle pressure. I actually thought that when we had pressure we are always at our best. Maybe not always, but most of the time.’

Liverpool face a Southampton side this weekend who have not won a league game since April 8.

Despite their blip, Claude Puel’s side will remain motivated to secure a top-half finish with three games of the season remaining.