Liverpool’s Champions League seeding is revealed, raising the possibility of a nightmarish match.
Liverpool has been back in the Champions League for a full year. The Reds had earlier been unlikely to even finish in the European spots, but they rallied to finish a disappointing fifth last season and qualify for the Europa League. Consequently, it marked the first time since his debut season at the club in 2015–16 that Jurgen Klopp has failed to guide his team into Europe’s top club competition. Liverpool entered the next season with the goal of at least regaining a Champions League berth, and as a result, expectations for the 2023–24 campaign were lowered. It was also expected that there would be competition for one of the five English clubs that would be able to qualify after the tournament’s redesign in 2024–2025.
Rather, for most of the season, the Reds were involved in a Premier League title fight; nevertheless, a recent decline in performance caused them to falter in the final six weeks of the season. Even so, they have done enough to secure a spot in the Champions League for the following season, as Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Chelsea last week ensured their spot in the top four. Prior to Liverpool’s own visit to Spurs, Aston Villa suffered a loss at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, guaranteeing a top-three finish before the ball was kicked. Premier League teams are falling short of Serie A and the Bundesliga in Europe this season, failing to secure a fifth Champions League qualifying spot.
Klopp’s team has performed well enough to earn a spot on their own. Liverpool will be the top seed in the 2024–2025 Champions League season despite not being the English champions, unless the improbable happens in the last two weeks of the Premier League season, nor the holders of the Europa League after losing to Atalanta in the quarterfinals and not participating in the competition the year before.