From nowhere to Champions League: Liverpool's season saved by a late run

It wasn't an ideal season, to say the least. Liverpool struggled with injuries and poor form, and it was pretty clear that they wouldn't retain the Premier League title they waited for three decades. But it did end on a high note for the Reds as they secured a Champions League place for next season.

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Manager Jurgen Klopp had to wait until the last day of the season to see if a late surge in form would be enough for his team to squeeze above Leicester City in the table. Thankfully for him, a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace was complemented with favourable results elsewhere. They've made it.

"If someone would have told me weeks ago – five, six, eight, ten weeks ago – that we can finish the season in third, that was absolutely out of reach and felt impossible. The injury situation was a subject that followed us through the whole year, and that was tough to take. For the entire team, fighting through this and finishing third is the best lesson you can learn for life. I couldn't be happier that I was around when that happened again. From nowhere to the Champions League in five weeks is a massive achievement as I see it."

The Crystal Palace encounter was Gini Wijnaldum's last in a Liverpool shirt. The Dutchman will leave Anfield at the end of the season after a five-year stay. Klopp is sad to see the midfielder leave but holds no grudges as the former Newcastle and PSV star looks to move.

"Where can I start? I met this excellent player for the first time – we played, obviously, against him, and the first time I met him was in my living room at home because I had seen him and talked to him. From the first moment, it clicked between us. He is a friendly, intelligent, open person, and that never changed. That just improved. Yes, it is very emotional for me because I'm losing a friend. I will miss him, that's how it is. But it's ordinary in football that these kinds of things happen. It's not always pleasant, but I'm sure he will find a great place."

It was an up-and-down year for the Reds. At least it ended on an up.