Liverpool: Jamie Carragher expects Reds to miss out on Champions League spots following defeat to Man City

Jamie Carragher expects Liverpool to miss out on Champions League qualification through the Premier League.

The Sky Sports pundit said it is now "a long way back" for Arne Slot's side to finish in the top five, following their 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Super Sunday.

That loss has left Liverpool four points off fifth-placed Chelsea. Had City's disallowed third goal have stood, Liverpool would have fallen to seventh in the league table as they are level on goal difference with Brentford.

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Were they to lose at Sunderland on Wednesday, they could slip as low as ninth.

When asked if he reckons Liverpool will make the Premier League's qualifying places for the Champions League - which is set to be expanded from four positions to five again this season - Carragher replied: "No. Right now I don't.

"They would have to have a huge upturn in form. And the ones above them are in great form."

Reflecting on the impact of the defeat to Man City, he said: "It's a bad one. When you look at the league for Liverpool, it looks like a long way to get into the top five Champions League positions. There's a gap now. You can make that up but Liverpool will have to do well in the two cup competitions to save the season."

Slot has immediate problems ahead of the tricky midweek trip to Sunderland, too, with three right-backs unavailable. Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are injured and Dominik Szoboszlai - who played in that position against Man City - is suspended after his sending off, while Joe Gomez is a fitness doubt.

"When you look at Liverpool's bench for the game against Sunderland in midweek, Szoboszlai won't be playing now and they've got a problem at right-back," added Carragher.

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Discussing what Slot can do to get Liverpool on track, Carragher said there are key issues around the balance of the squad - as well as bad mistakes being made by their top players.

"A lot of Liverpool's season is about mistakes you cannot believe from players of that calibre," he said. "Virgil van Dijk at Bournemouth, Alisson [against Man City]. You can't believe a goalkeeper of his calibre makes the decision to do that for the penalty.

"The manager has another decision to make on the front four.

"If Liverpool continue the way they are, with a front four and the games end to end, I just don't see how they can make the Champions League positions.

"But no matter what Arne Slot does, the make-up of this squad and team isn't right. It never looks stable, they are never in control.

"There is a long road ahead for Liverpool to make the Champions League places."

Neville: Composure and experience key to Liverpool achieving CL spots

Carragher's fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was more positive on Liverpool's top-five prospects - but said they must show mental resilience to bounce back from this defeat to City.

"They're now four points behind the top five," he said on The Gary Neville Podcast. "That's not a big gap at all, and there's a long way to go, and they'll have to play most of the teams above them, so they've still got loads of opportunities.

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"But there's a question mark over Liverpool. There is a question mark as to whether they will finish in the Champions League places. I still think they will, but what they have to do is box that up very quickly, and chuck it in a corner, and forget about it.

"There'll be some who say it's happening far too often, conceding goals late on. There'll be those who say something's wrong, something's fundamentally wrong, structurally wrong. But I think they just need to try and compose themselves if they can. They need to pull themselves together.

"They've got a lot of experience with Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch. They've got lots of players who know what to do.

"Can they hold it together? Can they get back on the bike?

"They go to Sunderland next. That is awkward. Go and win there if you really want to tell everybody that you're still going to be in the Champions League. Go and win at Sunderland, which will be a tough place to go. Win there emphatically, be professional, keep a clean sheet, and that's where everyone needs to look now for Liverpool.

"It'll be tough in there and there'll be a dressing room that'll be really low."

Nightmare finale adds to Slot's struggles

Analysis from Sky Sports' Adam Bate at Anfield:

The first words of the Liverpool boss in the press conference after Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City were that he was feeling "angry and frustrated" - and he went on to fixate on the decision not to send off Marc Guehi for a tug on Salah's shirt.

That is understandable. So near and yet so far. Liverpool were closing in on a memorable victory that would have put them within two points of fourth. In the end, it is a crushing defeat that comes coupled with the suspension of Szoboszlai.

Maintaining any perspective in the circumstances will be difficult, but Liverpool's second-half showing did offer encouragement. They troubled City with their pressing and threatened to overwhelm them during long spells of the second half at Anfield.

"The improvement we have made since three or four months ago was visible for everyone," said Slot. "Second half, our standards went up, in terms of intensity, we were pressing them all over the place and that is the biggest improvement we have made.

"That the whole is capable against one of the teams that is maybe the best team in England in ball possession, to do so well off the ball is a big improvement. A fantastic second half. I was expecting more than being one goal up."

Instead, it is a defeat and, as Slot conceded in his final thoughts before departing, that undermines any talk of progress at Liverpool. "The issue is you don't see this improvement in the league table and that is the most important," said the Reds boss.

Liverpool go to Sunderland on Wednesday with their hosts having had an extra day of rest and with Slot trying to find yet another solution at right-back where he is now onto his fifth choice. A game that was nearly a turning point ends up only adding to the pressure.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Liverpool: Jamie Carragher expects Reds to miss out on Champions League spots following defeat to Man City