Liverpool winning Europa League group ‘very important’, says Klopp

Liverpool booked their place in the Europa League last 16 as group winners on Thursday thanks to a 4-0 victory over Austria’s LASK at Anfield, and manager Juergen Klopp said it was a great result for his side as they prepare for a busy run of fixtures.

By sealing top spot in Group E with a game to spare, the Premier League club will now avoid having to go through a playoff round in February to reach the last 16.

“We are now top of the table and that will not change,” Klopp told reporters. “That’s good, very important in the busy, busy, busy schedule we have from now on.”

Klopp said there were a lot of positives to take from the win, the only negative being they did not finish the game off sooner.

“Performance really good, nobody got injured. All good,” he added.

Liverpool next host Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday, followed by visits to Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. They conclude their Europa League group stage campaign with a trip to Union Saint-Gilloise on Dec. 14.

While the Europa League is one step down from Europe’s elite club competition, the Champions League, Klopp said Liverpool were determined to go as far as possible in the competition.

“Unfortunately, my career is not like this where I can choose, to be honest. I have to take what I get,” he added.

“When we play the competition it’s the most important competition on the planet. Easy as that. But now we play Premier League on Sunday and so that is then the most important competition, definitely.”