Joe Cole has said that only by winning the Europa League would Liverpool be able to constitute their run in the competition a success.
The Reds maintained their 100% record in Group E by thrashing Toulouse 5-1 at Anfield on Thursday night, and they could even guarantee first place with two matches to spare if they win the reverse fixture in two week’s time and Union Saint-Gilloise fail to beat LASK away.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are many people’s favourites to lift the trophy in Dublin next May, even with eight clubs due to drop down from the Champions League in the New Year.
Speaking on TNT Sports after tonight’s match, Cole insisted that it’s win or bust for Liverpool when it comes to the Europa League.
The former Reds winger said: “They dominated from start to finish. Toulouse, I can’t fault their tactical gameplan, but like Eni [Aluko, fellow pundit] said, I think Liverpool are in the wrong competition. If they were in the Champions League we’d be looking at them [and] thinking they could go all the way.
“They have to win this Europa League. Anything other than winning it is not good enough for this group of players because of how talented they are.”
It was less than 18 months ago that Liverpool played in the Champions League final, so they absolutely should be targeting Europa League glory this season.
We’re definitely good enough to win it out among the 32 teams who are currently in the competition. Let’s just hope a certain club named Sevilla don’t drop down into it for the knockout rounds!
You can view Cole’s comments below, via @footballontnt on Twitter/X:
"Liverpool are in the wrong competition!"
Joe Cole reflects on another dominant performance from the Reds in the Europa League 👀#UEL pic.twitter.com/5nOfXxifHP
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 26, 2023