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Mohamed Salah has expressed his disappointment with Liverpool failing to make it into next season's UEFA Champions League. The Reds are set to play in the UEFA Europa League after finishing fifth with a game to play in the Premier League following a disappointing campaign.
Manchester United defeated Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday (May 25) to seal their place in the top four. Newcastle United managed to secure Champions League football for next season as well with a draw against Leicester City earlier this week.
Seconds after the final whistle blew at Old Trafford, Salah sent a message to the Liverpool fans. He claimed that he was devastated and felt that the fans deserved better, writing:
"I’m totally devastated. There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed.
"We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down."
Salah has played in the Europa League with AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina, but never with the Reds. In 28 appearances in the competition, he has scored five goals and laid out seven assists.
Jurgen Klopp ready to make Europa League Liverpool's competition
Earlier this month, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quizzed about the possibility of playing in the Europa League next season. The German tactician didn't seem as downcast as Mohamed Salah and indicated that he was looking forward to playing in the second tier European competition.
Klopp wants to make the Europa League Liverpool's competition and is not planning to take it lightly even after spending several years in the Champions League. He stated:
"We will make it [the Europa League] our competition. I am not that spoilt. That we are already qualified for the Europa League is incredible with all these teams around us. That's really difficult and we did it, that is good.
"For so long. we couldn't even hear the sound of the Champions League, that's how far away we were. The Europe League is absolutely fine. Let's see what we can do."
Klopp's side played in the Champions League final last season and lost 1-0 to Real Madrid. Los Blancos defeated the Reds 5-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 this season to knock them out of the tournament.
The Reds last played in the Europa League in the 2015-16 season and made the final where they lost 3-1 to Sevilla.
