The meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool on Tuesday evening was very unspectacular. According to Jürgen Klopp, not surprising from the guests’ perspective.
Klopp gives Liverpool time: “People expect miracles”
“I wouldn’t be a manager of Liverpool if I had several seasons like this. And I know people will say we have to play the best football ever,” Klopp, who saw leads, told the BBC. “I saw a lot of great duels, I saw people cutting in at a high pace, blocking balls and that’s what you need.”
Liverpool had to make it at Stamford Bridge without Virgil van Dijk, among others, and took office with a midfield with Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. “The three in midfield have not often played together, but I liked the connection.”
“We have to keep building. People expect miracles, but we are back on track,” Klopp said optimistically. “We want to play our best football, but if things don’t go the way you want, you have to fight through it and take positive steps, sometimes small and sometimes big. Tonight those were small steps. Now we have time to prepare for another tough match against the swinging Arsenal.”
Henderson: “Just not enough consistency”
“There have been flashes of brilliance in performance all season, but just not enough consistency,” captain Jordan Henderson said afterwards. “Sometimes the energy isn’t quite there.”
“There will be many reasons for that, I don’t think there is just one reason. There is a lot of outside noise, but what is important is staying together, staying positive in the locker room and not letting outside influences influence us. We must keep fighting. Yes, it hasn’t been brilliant this season, but we have to keep fighting until the end and see where it takes us,” he concluded.
“Major clear up necessary at Liverpool next summer”
At Liverpool, the problems would not simply be solved if Jude Bellingham came to Anfield next summer. That is the opinion of analyst Chris Sutton.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club on Monday, Sutton said a “big cleanup” is needed at The Reds: “Every day you pick up a paper that says Bellingham is going to Liverpool, they need more than Bellingham.”
“The defence doesn’t get much protection,” Sutton says. “Allison hasn’t done much wrong. Virgil van Dijk is a far cry from the player he once was. Trent Alexander-Arnold really lacks confidence and that spills over to other players. They have big problems.”
Former defender Micah Richards says he has seen things go wrong in the transfer area. “Klopp, who is normally at the forefront of the players he brings in, has let a superstar [Sadio Mane] go for a young player [Darwin Nuñez] who is not quite ready,” said Richards. “It’s no time to panic because they have some great players in that squad. They just have to find the right setup for what Klopp wants to do.”
