Wayne Rooney and others left with egg on face as Liverpool prediction backfires

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Liverpool FC NewsFeaturesWayne RooneyWayne Rooney was one of many pundits who tipped Liverpool to successfully defend the Premier League title this season, but the Reds could only muster a fifth-place finishWayne Rooney tipped Liverpool to retain the Premier League(Image: Getty Images)When the BBC published its pundit predictions at the start of the season, the majority of them had tipped Liverpool to win the Premier League title.A total of 33 pundits gave their predictions for which clubs would finish in which positions in the top four of the table, and 21 of those – Wayne Rooney included – tipped Liverpool to finish at the top. Micah Richards and Alan Shearer were also among the pundits who backed Liverpool to defend the title, while only six pundits tipped Arsenal to win the league.Five of them tipped Manchester City to win the league, while Chris Waddle was the only BBC pundit to choose a team other than Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City – he plumped for Chelsea to claim the title.READ MORE: Mohamed Salah 'crying' at Liverpool exit as legend gives Andy Robertson verdictREAD MORE: Alan Shearer calls Liverpool hero one of best signings in Premier League historyThat turned out to be the worst prediction of the lot, as Chelsea ended up finishing in 10th position in the standings after the Stamford Bridge club's season collapsed following the departure of Enzo Maresca in January.Matt Upson, Martin Keown, Jermaine Beckford, Leon Osman, Sue Smith and Thomas Hitzlsperger were the only pundits to correctly tip Arsenal to win the league.As for Liverpool, it's time for Arne Slot and his players to regroup following the conclusion of the season on Sunday.Arne Slot presided over a disappointing second season at Liverpool(Image: PAUL ELLIS, AFP via Getty Images)Many of Liverpool's players will now have international duty on their mind ahead of the start of the World Cup in June.But Reds fans will hope that the squad's focus is fully reset when attention turns back to club matters toward the end of July.Liverpool must improve a lot next season after a 2025-26 campaign that saw the team's title defense effectively ended by November.In a farewell interview on Sunday, departing Liverpool legend Andy Robertson admitted that he knew before Christmas that the Reds weren't going to have the season that they wanted to have."It (qualifying for the Champions League was a must)," Robertson said after Liverpool secured a top-five finish on the final day of the season."It's been a hugely disappointing season from how we wanted it all to pan out."It was clear before Christmas that it wasn't going to pan out how we wanted it to."We limped over in the end.

I really hope they can kick on."Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Wayne RooneyLiverpool FC