Jürgen Klopp seemed a bit at a loss. “There is no doubt that everyone can play football better on the pitch,” said the team manager after the next serious blunder of his accustomed Liverpool FC against a basement child of the Premier League.
The “Reds” stumbled again a week after the disgrace at bottom Nottingham Forest with a 1: 2 (1: 1) against Leeds United. Klopp’s team can’t get out of the negative spiral – so the season threatens to become a tragedy, at least in the league. Liverpool are eight points a game down from a premier class rank.
Liverpool fear for Champions League
“I’m not so stupid that I don’t know about the distance and which teams are up there,” said Klopp: “You can’t qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistently as we are currently playing.” to get game problems under control as quickly as possible. “Anything is possible,” said Klopp: “But you have to win football games for that.”
The team of the former Mainz and Dortmund Bundesliga coaches again failed to do this on Saturday despite being the clear favourites. And as early as the fourth minute of the game, it became clear on Anfield Road that the 2020 English champions were still not playing at their top level. Rodrigo Moreno picked up a completely misplaced back pass from Joe Gomez and slotted in effortlessly for the visiting team. Star striker Mo Salah managed to equalize quickly (14′), but shortly before the end Crysencio Summerville (89′) sealed the home defeat of the Champions League round of 16.
His team should have been smarter, calmer, said Klopp, who hardly has time for real changes. The game frequency is extremely high, on Tuesday the premier class continues and against SSC Naples for the group win. “Now is not the time for a general overhaul. We have to fight our way through, fight for momentum, self-confidence and self-confidence,” said Klopp: “And we’ll do that.”
The 55-year-old sees “problems with injuries and half-fit players” as one of the reasons for the downturn in the league, which his club has been carrying around with them all season. The automatisms are missing and it is a feat for Liverpool to reconnect with the top group.
