Jurgen Klopp comments on Spurs star, suggests he can help Jose Mourinho’s side finish in top four

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has commented on Tottenham Hotspur ace Gareth Bale, suggesting Spurs are in the running for the Premier League’s top four with him playing again.

Both the Reds and Spurs were early contenders for the title, but drops in form and poor results have seen them slide out of the top four in recent weeks.

Liverpool have endured a nightmare of a season, their previous incredible form deserting them amid a spate of injuries to key players, and are now sixth in the table.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have looked outstanding in some games and dismal in others, resulting in them sitting eighth after 28 league games played.

Liverpool gained a much-needed three points with victory against Wolves on Monday, just their fourth win in the league since Christmas.

It moved them to within five points of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, who currently occupy the final Champions League spot, but Klopp thinks Liverpool face a difficult task to qualify.

And the Reds boss has suggested that Bale’s return to form could prove the catalyst to keep Tottenham in contention for the Champions League qualification places.

“I like to be an optimist, but in the league it is almost impossible to qualify in the competition for the Champions League places that we have,” Klopp told German newspaper Bild, translated by Sky Sports.

“At Tottenham, Gareth Bale is now playing again, and they are also in the running. Plus (Manchester) City and United, who are far away.

“Chelsea is on the rise. Reaching Champions League qualification through the league will be difficult, we know that.”

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Bale has taken a while to get up to speed, but now he’s in great form, having claimed four goals and two assists in his last five Premier League games, plus two goals and one assist in the two Europa League round of 32 games against Wolfsberger.

Admittedly he wasn’t particularly impressive in the North London derby – few Spurs players were on the day, it has to be said – but the team will no doubt bounce back in the coming games.

And Klopp is right to highlight Bale as a threat, particularly when you consider he’s playing alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, a front line of the highest calibre.