I was thinking earlier about this. If you gave me the choice between losing all our games against them this season but we finsh 4th and they finish 5th. Opposed to us winning every game but finishing 5th and them getting 4th. I would take the former every time.
It's what we do to Liverpool. They beat us, we finish above them. The joy of finishing higher lasts a lot longer than the disappointment from a loss.