Szoboszlai warns Liverpool risk missing Europe after late Tottenham setback

Liverpool’s chances of locking in European football next season have come under fresh fire after yet another slip in the dying moments, leading midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to sound a stark alarm about where the club is headed.

Tottenham Hotspur snatched a draw at Anfield thanks to Richarlison’s stoppage-time strike—the eighth time this Premier League campaign Liverpool have allowed a crucial goal at or beyond the 90th minute.

Sure, the point nudged Liverpool up to fifth place, just ahead of Chelsea, but it also meant another missed chance to cement their spot in the race for Champions League football.

Szoboszlai didn’t hold back his frustration afterward, hinting that if this pattern keeps up, Liverpool might even struggle to qualify for Europe next season.

After the match, the Hungarian midfielder openly questioned the team’s dip in energy following his early free-kick goal, which put Liverpool ahead inside 18 minutes.

His words captured a growing worry within the squad about their failure to seal games. According to Szoboszlai, they must urgently tackle these recurring late concessions if they want to guarantee a European spot.

Here's the thing: when you consider the Premier League table right now, his warning really hits home.

With eight matches left on the calendar, Liverpool are still very much in the Champions League hunt. If fifth place holds up—something the current UEFA coefficient system suggests—they’d only need to hang on to their standing to return to Europe’s premier club competition.

That said, the margin for slip-ups is shrinking fast.

Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures pit them against several rivals competing directly for a top-five finish, and notably, they have no games remaining against the league’s bottom six sides—the usual “easier” matches where points are often picked up.

In other words: every single dropped point from here on could make or break their season.

Slipping further down the table would come with even more severe repercussions. Depending on the outcomes of domestic cups, the UEFA Europa Conference League spot might go to whoever finishes seventh or eighth.

If Liverpool were to drop below that, they could find themselves without any European football next year.

While that scenario isn’t the most likely, it’s certainly not out of the question.

Everton, currently sitting in eighth, are six points adrift of Liverpool, meaning a prolonged dip in form could shake up the standings in dramatic fashion as the season winds down. For a club used to regular Champions League nights under previous regimes, the idea of missing out on Europe completely would be nothing short of seismic.

So, Szoboszlai’s comments feel less like a fleeting burst of frustration and more like a serious wake-up call.

As the season’s final weeks loom, Liverpool’s ability to maintain leads—a recurring Achilles’ heel this year—could be the deciding factor between a return to continental football or an unexpected absence from the European stage next campaign.