Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool 'don't deserve' Champions League qualification

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was furious with his side's wasteful nature in their 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Saturday, claiming his players 'don't deserve' Champions League football on that showing.

The Reds missed a host of chances against the Magpies, but conceded a Joe Willock equaliser with the last kick of the game to throw away two vital points in their race for a top-four finish.

And speaking to BT Sport after the game, Klopp admitted that their opponents deserved a point for their work over the 90 minutes, but suggested that his players 'kept Newcastle alive' with their terrible finishing.

"Definitely," Klopp responded, when asked if the draw felt like a defeat.

"I don't think you can create many more chances than we did today and we don't finish the game off. We didn't play enough.

"We kept them alive and in the end they deserved the goal, because they scored two minutes before. It's another one which with the new rules is unlucky, but it's handball how we now use the rules - and we don't even take this present.

"We gave another chance away and it just makes no sense and it's really tough to take."

When asked exactly why the Liverpool players were unable to see out the victory, Klopp hinted that they 'don't fight enough', and hit a mental block when they begin missing huge opportunities.

"In a specific way, we don't fight enough. We had 70% of the ball and we should have had 80%. We created a lot of chances, we didn't score them, and we have to create more, that's how it is.

"It always has this impact like, "Oh my God." It drops a little bit here and there a little bit instead of just going "Who cares?" A missed chance is just information, nothing else. But we don't do that well at the moment.

"And that's why I say it's deserved. People look at the stats and say, "How can that happen?" But it happened, we saw it, they fought for it, and they got it and we got nothing, pretty much. You're right, it feels like a defeat.

And asked about Liverpool's top-four chances, Klopp was unequivocal in his thoughts on missing out on Champions League football.

"If you deserve it, you deserve it. From what I saw today, we don't deserve to be in the Champions League. Either we learn, or we don't play Champions League."

The Reds are currently lying in sixth place in the Premier League table and will lose further ground on the top four by the end of the weekend. Newcastle, meanwhile, will be grateful for another vital point in their hunt to avoid relegation.