Klopp claims Liverpool are feeling the heat in top-four fight

Jurgen Klopp acknowledged Liverpool are "under pressure" to qualify for next season's Champions League as they look to salvage something from a difficult season.

The Reds were knocked out of this year's competition at the quarter-final stage after a goalless draw with Real Madrid at Anfield saw them lose 3-1 on aggregate.

Their exit on Wednesday ended any hopes of silverware in this campaign and they now face a battle to finish in the Premier League's top four with seven games left.

Liverpool are in sixth place, jostling with city rivals Everton along with Chelsea, Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham for the lofty finish they want.

Klopp's side head into Monday's clash with Leeds United on the back of three consecutive Premier League wins – just the second time they have strung together a trio of league wins this season.

Liverpool also boast a good recent record against the West Yorkshire club, with Leeds having won just one of their last 11 home games against the Reds in all competitions (drawn three, lost seven).

Speaking at a news conference on Saturday ahead of the trip to Elland Road, the Liverpool manager claimed his side are feeling the heat.

"Yes, we are under pressure, how everyone can imagine, in the sense that we want to finish in the top four but we don't know in the moment if we will," Klopp said.

"But we have seven games to prove that point and that's what we try.

"There are obviously two things in football that are important: one is the performance, the other is results. The last three Premier League games we won, one Champions League game we lost and one we drew.

"The one bad game we played in that spell was the Champions League game we lost, all the other games were OK or better, so that's what we have to keep doing: play our best football.

"And still you have to accept then the result because you have to finish the situations off, what we didn't do in the second leg against Real Madrid obviously, but that does not mean we will not do that forever again.

"That's the situation, just go for it. It's not only about having a response or whatever, it's just go for it, go and go and go, play your best football."

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Liverpool won the reverse fixture against Leeds 4-3 on the opening day, and they have done the double over Leeds four times in the Premier League (1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-2000 and 2002-03).

Klopp said: "When you think about Leeds, it's like, 'It's uncomfortable, you have to go and do this and this and this' – exactly the same thing Leeds has to do when they think about us: 'Oh my God, how do we defend that?'

"We cannot do more actually, before a game. The way is clear – we have to win football games. The best way would be to win all the football games, but there are tough opponents and we respect that, we really respect that.

"We see the situation we are in and we see it positively, to be honest. We are around, we have to win our games to put pressure on the other teams and stuff like this."

Klopp has no fresh injury worries ahead of the fixture and revealed positive progress in the rehabilitation of long-term injury victims Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson.

He added: "Joe is outside running now and all these kind of things, which is obviously always a big step after all injuries.

"He [Gomez] looks fine when he is running, no real reaction in the knee, which is very important. It obviously still takes time but he's in a good way. Like Virgil, Joel and Jordan are."