Arne Slot spoke about a 1-1 draw between Brentford and Liverpool.
The Reds still needed to ensure qualification for the Champions League through a top five finish in the Premier League, and they hoped to fulfil the minimum requirement for the season at Anfield.
‘It’s clear and obvious that we wanted more’
Mohamed Salah marked his last appearance for the Reds with an assist for Curtis Jones, while Andy Robertson also said an emotional farewell at Anfield, but Kevin Schade scored the leveller for the visitors, and there was no response before the final whistle.
Liverpool landed the position they wanted in the table, but their disappointment cannot be contained.
“We didn’t get what we deserved so that’s a common theme this season. We deserved to win, although in the 100th minute we could have even lost it and so many times this season we’ve seen that before, that we were getting chances to make the winner and then in the 10th minute of extra time they got a serious chance, the header. This time it didn’t go in, so many times this season it did go in.
“I think it was another game that looked similar to all the other games we have played – I think it took them 40 minutes before they arrived in our 18-yard box for the first time. Maybe I am exaggerating it a little bit but we completely dominated the first half, but off a throw-in they get their first chance. And yeah, set-pieces is another theme that we spoke about a lot this season.
“We came here today to do the minimum, that’s the minimum required, and that is qualifying for the Champions League . As you see when you take a look at the league table, big clubs are not able to qualify for Champions League or Europe. Big clubs have not been able to qualify for Europe in the last few seasons in this league, so we can never take it for granted.
“But it’s clear and obvious that we wanted more. But I’m really proud of the players, what they’ve done this season, because it’s been a very, very, very tough season for us, with all the things we had to experience, with all the injuries, and I can come up with all these things we have had to go through.
“But if this in the end is then the minimum for us, qualifying for the Champions League , fifth place, and going out in the FA Cup against the winners after losing an away game to Manchester City , which so many teams do. Losing against Paris Saint-Germain for the second year in a row, where no team in the last two years were able to beat them over two games.
“Over one game, Chelsea of course in the Club World Cup and maybe Arsenal now in the final, but over two games not one team has been able to do so. So yeah, not what I would have loved us to achieve this season before we started but taking everything into account, what has happened to us this season, I’m today happy that we’ve qualified for the Champions League .
“I would have answered this question exactly the same in the year we won the league because as a manager you can never be perfect [and] a player can never be perfect. But all the decisions I’ve made throughout the whole season has been only with one idea, and that’s being very well prepared.
“All the decisions I made were never made from, ‘Oh, I have no time, let’s make a decision like this No, I thought about it really well and as you know, not every decision can be the right one so it would be stupid for me to sit here and say all the decisions I’ve made were the right ones.
“But before I made them, it every time felt they were the right ones to make. But a lot of times I didn’t even have to make decisions or choices because this [game] was maybe the first time this season that there were no Academy players on our bench - and that has been an exception. So, if you asked me one word to describe this season, I would describe that with the word ‘injury’.”