There are few things more surreal in football than a team potentially benefitting from losing, yet that’s exactly the scenario Liverpool could be dragged into on the final day of the Premier League season.
After our defeat at Old Trafford, we’re still not mathematically guaranteed a top-five finish, even though Opta still give us a 97.15% chance of qualifying for the Champions League, meaning there’s a slim but real possibility things go down to the wire.
According to BBC Sport, the permutations around European qualification have created a situation where sixth place could actually secure Champions League football.
The report explains: “It is unlikely to come to fruition, but there is a chance the team in sixth place might need to lose on the final day to earn a Champions League spot.”
That’s where Liverpool come into it, because we host Brentford on the final day, and the Bees are right in the middle of that battle alongside Brighton and Bournemouth.
The same analysis adds: “Brighton are at home to third-placed Manchester United, and Brentford are at Liverpool, who are fourth.”
If the conditions fall into place, Brentford could find themselves in the absurd position of needing a defeat at Anfield to secure a higher-level European spot.
The confusion stems from UEFA rules and the so-called European Performance Spot, which has already given England an extra Champions League place this season.
BBC Sport outline the key issue clearly: “Even more remarkably there might be teams on the final day who might need to LOSE to end up in the Champions League.”
That depends on Aston Villa finishing fifth and winning the Europa League, which would push the additional Champions League place down to sixth.
It creates a potentially awkward dynamic, because Liverpool currently need three points to guarantee our place, Brentford could be relying on a defeat against us to benefit from the wider picture.
Arne Slot has already made it clear we can’t rely on scenarios, saying we need to take care of our own results, and that remains the key point here.
But if things aren’t wrapped up before that final day, we could be walking into one of the strangest fixtures the Premier League has ever seen, where both teams want Liverpool to win the match.
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