Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has played down suggestions that his side are involved in the race for the top four after their nervy 2-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Reds extended their winning streak in the Premier League to three matches in the capital thanks to Cody Gakpo and Joel Matip's efforts after Lucas Paqueta's opener.
Brazilian playmaker Paqueta lashed home a stunning opener for the Hammers in the first half, but Gakpo responded in kind with his own long-range strike to draw the visitors level.
West Ham continued to pose a threat on the break and had a Jarrod Bowen goal ruled out for offside, before Matip's bullet header turned the tie on its head for the Reds.
Victory at the London Stadium moved Liverpool into sixth place in the table, although they remain six points behind Manchester United - who have two games in hand - in the final Champions League spot.
© Reuters
The Red Devils could extend that gap to nine points with victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, while Ryan Mason's side will knock Liverpool back down to seventh place with at least a draw.
As a result, Klopp has refused to talk up his side's chances of breaking into the Champions League places and is only focused on ending a tumultuous campaign with a flourish.
"I can't see the race yet, I can't. That's because we are not in the position for a race. So the only thing we can do is winning football games," the German said in his post-game press conference.
"If that puts pressure on other teams, that's not in our hands because we don't play them. We play Tottenham – that's it from that area, I think, of teams above us. If they win all their games, that's it for us. But I don't think about that. I want us to finish the season as good as somehow possible.
"I want to take something out of the season for next year. If that is European competition, great. If not, we have to accept it as well and go from there. That's what I want now."
With a few minutes remaining at the London Stadium, Liverpool survived a late penalty shout when the ball struck the hand of Thiago Alcantara in the area, leading to David Moyes protesting furiously with Chris Kavanagh after the full-time whistle.
© Reuters
Klopp understood his counterpart's frustration but insisted that his side were still worthy winners on the night, adding: "I heard now about the handball [but] we were on the other side of that.
"I thought he just fell on the ball but I can understand Moyesy sees that probably completely different. In the end, if you look at the game, I think we are the deserved winner and that's, for me, very important."
Meanwhile, match-winner Matip was making just his 11th Premier League start of the season in place of Ibrahima Konate, who missed out due to a niggle, but Klopp does not expect the Frenchman to remain sidelined for much longer.
"Ibou could have played. He's not injured but, in the last two or three weeks, he always had to rest like two days, one day, then half a session, stuff like this," Klopp said on Konate.
"I thought now we have to make sure that he can recover properly, that he doesn't get injured, so that's why we left him completely at home. That's it pretty much."
Liverpool now have three full days to recover before they welcome fellow top-four outsiders Tottenham to Anfield for Sunday's crunch clash.
Ben Knapton
