Liverpool could not have done more in Premier League title race, claims Klopp The Reds put up more points than any side other than Manchester City's squads the last two seasons, but it was not enough to secure silverware Jurgen Klopp believes his Liverpool squad could not have done more to take their first Premier League title after falling just short to Manchester City on the last day of the season. The Reds entered the final matchday needing a victory over Wolves as well as City to drop points at Brighton in order come way with the Premier League crown. A brace from Sadio Mane, which netted him a share of the Premier League Golden Boot with team-mate Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, saw Liverpool to a 2-0 victory at Anfield. However, despite an early goal that gave Brighton a first-half lead, City stormed back to win 4-1 and secured their second straight Premier League crown with 98 points to Liverpool’s 97. Liverpool’s point total is the third-best in Premier League history behind City this year and their 100-point side last year. Despite that gaudy total, fingers might still be pointed at Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to City in January as the key in the title race, but Klopp refused to look back with any regrets. “People might say we could have done this or that but not really, I don't think [we could have done any more],” Klopp told Sky Sports. “City were lucky in moments, we were lucky in moments. It was about staying in the race and believing and that's what we did. "When your opponent is City, it's difficult. They couldn't get rid of us and we couldn't get rid of them.” Liverpool finished fourth last term with just 75 points, meaning this year’s squad has made a 22-point improvement. In addition, their hunt for silverware is not finished, as Liverpool are in the Champions League final for a second straight season when they face Premier League rivals Tottenham on June 1. And while Klopp is not happy at being second, he sees this as another sign of progress. "The team made so many big steps in the last year,” Klopp told BBC Sport. “The boys were all there from last season apart from Alisson. He had a big impact but all the rest were here last season. Article continues below "It’s a very special season, a better season than I played with my team [Borussia Dortmund] when we were champions in Germany. But we cannot ignore one team were better. "It’s clear we had to work hard and City too. Our target during the week was to get 97 points, we got that – that’s special. “We want to write our own history and we did. Today feels not so good but we have plenty of time to prepare for an important game in three weeks."<doc-sep>Jürgen Klopp said Liverpool would not be deflated by missing out on the Premier League title with an astonishing 97 points but admitted it would take “close to perfection” to usurp Manchester City as champions. Liverpool ended their title challenge with a 30th win of the season, at home to Wolves, with Alisson keeping a club-record 21st clean sheet and Sadio Mané sharing the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah – and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – on 22 goals. But the third-biggest points haul of all time in England’s top division was not enough to land a first league title in 29 years for Liverpool, who have the Champions League final to come against Tottenham on 1 June. Their manager insisted he had no concerns the monumental effort only to finish second would have a lasting psychological impact on his players. “I’m not worried,” Klopp said. “That was the season we played. Next season we will play a different season. As long as City are around with the quality and the financial power that they have then it’s not like any other team will pass them easily. That’s clear. We need to be very, very close to perfection to win the Premier League as long as this is the case. The Kop was in excellent voice after the match, despite Manchester City’s win. Photograph: David Blunsden/Action Plus via Getty Images “But we made unbelievably big steps and I really expect more to come, that’s the truth. What that means in the end, I don’t know. But if you see whatever happens to you in life as the only chance you ever had, then I feel a bit sorry for you to be honest. “There’s a lot to come, a lot of years; it’s all about you and what you do with it, and that’s what we do with it. People will tell us it’s 30 years [since Liverpool won the league] but they have bigger problems, to be honest. We will go again. This team tried it the first time and I really think they did it quite impressively for a first time. And to be on this road and also qualify for the Champions League final is pretty special. “This team is one of the best to have ever played for Liverpool but we play in a league with other very good teams and we have to accept that, no problem. We will go again, 100%. But give me a few hours to get over what happened today.” Klopp congratulated City on retaining the title and admitted the commotion in the crowd when Brighton took the lead on the south coast had a destabilising effect on his team. “It’s difficult to prepare a team for a situation like that, to say: ‘If we score and Brighton score, stay calm,’” he said. “It was going nuts. Then it was difficult. Then it calmed down and it was clear when the atmosphere was not that ecstatic any more that something happened at Brighton which we didn’t like.” Despite his pride in Liverpool’s performance this season Klopp was relatively subdued in his post-match press conference and did not hide his disappointment at being pipped on the line by City. He added: “It’s disappointing. It’s not a wonderful moment but we have enough time to feel how brilliant the season was: 97 points is incredible. And only because City is there it’s not enough. In every other country it would have been easily enough but here. No problem with that. That is the competition we are in. The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email “It’s not the competition of 30 years ago, 20 years ago or 10 years ago. It’s completely different. These boys were really ready for it and they have my maximum respect. Not only them because I have to say I know a lot of people will say the Liverpool supporter base are so desperate to win a league, and how they follow this path and our way is just incredible. “This club is in its best moment for a long, long time and it will not end because there is one team with a point more. We will keep going. If you would have thought before the season that we would have 97 points everyone would have taken it but then somebody decided there is another team with 98 points. That’s how it is.”<doc-sep>Jermaine Jenas has criticised Liverpool, who just finished this season with 97 points in the Premier League and are in the Champions League Final, for not winning the FA Cup. In order for Liverpool to compete so exceptionally in the world’s two most important club competitions, Jurgen Klopp rested players in the League Cup and the FA Cup – which resulted in losses to Chelsea and Wolves in the early rounds of each. But there are no fans suggesting the manager messed up, despite Jenas’s odd comments. “The place where I could see he could improve and maybe take a bit of pressure off himself, is stop chucking the FA Cup away,” Jenas told BT Sport, cited by Football365. “Give yourself another chance. Then this whole thing of you’ve not got over the line and not won a trophy, give yourself more opportunities to win the League Cup, win the FA Cup. “He did the same last year and didn’t win the Champions League.” Why does there have to be any criticism of Klopp? His team just accumulated the third most points in the history of top flight English football. That’s including every single season since 1888. He’s also about to fight for the Champions League, his second consecutive Final by the way, in a few weeks’ time. No criticism is needed. You cannot win every single game in every competition. It’s farcical that Liverpool didn’t win the title, but City are a farcically good side – benefitting from a farcical attitude towards the rules of FFP which will eventually sting them.<doc-sep>
Sadio Mane's brace against Wolves wasn't enough for Liverpool to steal the Premier League title on Manchester City on the final day of the season. (2:38) Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed his team for an "unbelievable" season after they finished as Premier League runners-up to Manchester City and said they would need to be "very, very close to perfection" to win the title next season. A 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield was not enough to secure the crown as City won 4-1 at Brighton. Klopp said his team, beaten only once in the Premier League this season as they finished on 97 points, would be ready for another title challenge. "As long as City are around, with the quality they have, the power, the financial power and that stuff, then it's not any other team that will pass them easily," Klopp said. "So we need to be very, very, close to perfection to win the Premier League as long as this is the case. "We have made unbelievable big steps and I expect more to come -- what that means in the end, I don't know. "If you see whatever happens to you in life as the only chance you will ever have, I feel a bit for you to be honest, because there is a lot to come, a lot of years, it is all about what you do with it." - Usher: Mane an 8/10 after leading relentless Liverpool to bittersweet win - Ogden: Epic title race decided by millimetres - When are next season's Premier League fixtures revealed? Liverpool have not been English champions in the Premier League era, which began in the 1992-93 season, with their last triumph coming in the days of the old First Division in 1990. "People will tell us now that it is 30 years or whatever but they have bigger problems to be honest, the people who say that, or the clubs who say that. We will go again," Klopp said. He suggested that this season had seen Liverpool's first real title challenge under his management and praised his players for reaching a second successive Champions League final, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur. "This year we tried for the first time [to win the title] and I really think that it was quite impressive for the first time," he said. "On this road, to qualify for the finals of the Champions League, it is pretty special. "This team is one of the best that ever played for Liverpool, 100 percent, but we play in a league with other very good teams -- that is what we must accept and we do accept, no problem. "We will go again, but give me a few hours to get over that today. We feel it. It is disappointing, it is not a wonderful moment but we have enough time to see and feel how brilliant the season was. It was brilliant, 97 points is incredible, and only because City are there was it not enough."