premier league
Klopp in the rain: Liverpool in crisis wants to avoid thunderstorms
Has suffered a bitter defeat with Liverpool: coach Jürgen Klopp. photo
© Dave Thompson/AP/dpa
Three games, two points: Jürgen Klopp has never started a Premier League season worse with Liverpool. The coach is now looking ahead. What else is he supposed to do?
Coach Jürgen Klopp is “concerned” that he is still without a win with Liverpool after three matchdays in the Premier League. “But it’s like life: if it rains, you have to get out,” said the coach after the 2-1 draw at Manchester United.
Which means in another way that despite being in 16th place in the table, things are somehow going on. Just like football always goes on. In this case, that means: August 27, 4:00 p.m., home game against newly promoted AFC Bournemouth. Then Liverpool should actually win better. Otherwise, the rain could turn into a thunderstorm for Klopp.
Worst start to the season under Klopp
Two points from three games – in his almost seven years at the LFC, the 55-year-old has never started a season worse. They are already seven points behind leaders Arsenal. “We’ve always been a hard-working team, we’ve always been honest, always passionate,” said left-back Andy Robertson. You have to think about it again, then the results would come. “But you must come quickly.”
Klopp has high hopes for his own fans. “Anfield has to rock on Saturday and we have to ignite the fire, a rhythm,” said the former BVB coach. “We will do what any Liverpool fan would want us to do: fight for our lives.” If only because of the greater individual class, that should normally be enough for a win against Bournemouth. Except that not much is normal with the Reds right now. Klopp’s team is finding it extremely difficult to get into the games well. It takes an unusually long time for the LFC to build up the usual pressure on the opponent.
“What hurts the most is the result”
Appropriately, Liverpool are 1-0 down at half-time in previous games against Crystal Palace, Fulham and United. The fact that regular players like Thiago, Ibrahima Konaté, Diogo Jota or Joel Matip were injured didn’t make things any easier. The departure of attacker Sadio Mané to FC Bayern Munich has not yet been compensated. Darwin Núñez, who was committed as his successor and certainly highly talented, had to sit out against Manchester because of a red suspension.
This is one of the reasons why United, who were also in trouble, came into play much better and more aggressively. For the former Dortmund professional Jadon Sancho, who paved the way for Manchester’s first win of the season with his 1-0 lead (16th minute), the greater motivation was decisive. “We knew it was an important game, that we had to turn things around today,” said the England international. Coach Erik ten Hag had banished superstar Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting XI to the bench, as did captain Harry Maguire and defender Luke Shaw. The risk paid off.
Despite everything, his colleague Klopp remains positive. “That wasn’t a disaster game from us,” he said, in the meantime “a bunch of really good stuff has been put on the pitch”. “What hurts the most is the result – and we have to deal with that now.”