How many points Liverpool need to secure Champions League football as Chelsea fall further behind
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Liverpool collected a huge three points on Sunday courtesy of a late Virgil van Dijk header in the Merseyside Derby against Everton.The win put the Reds in a commanding position in the race to secure Champions League football for next season, with a seven-point gap opening up to sixth-place Chelsea.But with only five Premier League matches left to play – and with Liverpool still to play the three teams in their immediate vicinity – how many points do Arne Slot and his team need to ensure Chelsea cannot catch them? How the table looks after Sunday’s MASSIVE win Can Liverpool start planning the summer with Champions League football next year?
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC Liverpool need three more wins Given their difficult end to the season, Liverpool fans will be delighted to have opened up a sizeable gap down to Chelsea, Brentford and Bournemouth. But the job is not done just yet.Liverpool need three more wins from their final five games in order to cement themselves in the top five.After a fourth Premier League defeat in a row against Manchester United on Saturday, the maximum points total Chelsea can reach now stands at 63.Three more Liverpool victories would put them on 64 points and out of reach of Liam Rosenior’s side.Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Brilliant footage appears to show Steven Gerrard’s reaction to Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool winner vs EvertonAlternatively, if one of the Reds’ wins comes against Chelsea at Anfield on May 9th, the Blues could only reach 61 points, meaning two Liverpool wins would likely be enough – provided Bournemouth and Brentford, also capable of hitting 64 points, fall away a little.Ordinarily, that would look like a simple ask for the Reds, but their fixtures mean that it will be easier said than done.Beating Crystal Palace at Anfield on Saturday looks like a must, with an away game at Old Trafford coming next, followed by the Chelsea game and a trip to Villa Park.Even a home game with Brentford on the final day looks fraught with complications, but on the back of a morale-boosting win on Sunday, Liverpool now know that they are nearly there.
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