Liverpool squanders chance to advance
NEWCASTLE, England— After Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp summed up his club’s performance by saying: “Football is not fair.”
Klopp found it difficult to accept that the visitor emerged with only a point thanks to a spectacular longrange goal from Philippe Coutinho after enjoying twice as much possession as Rafael Benitez’s Magpies at St James’ Park.
“I thought we were the better side and created far more clear chances. I think we should have won,” Klopp said after a draw that leaves Liverpool seven points back of EPL front-runners Manchester City and Manchester United.
A victory that would have advanced Liverpool into the top four appeared likely after Coutinho put the Reds ahead in the 29th minute, but they paid the price for failing to convert other chances.
Still, Klopp remains confident that Liverpool, yet to win the English title in the Premier League era, is equipped to mount a challenge for supremacy.
“I cannot talk about our football and the gap between us and other teams. We are having our hard moment and other teams will have their hard moment,” he said.
“I really think it looks like we are not far away from a real challenge,” he added, with Liverpool having won the last of its then-record 18 English titles in 1990.
“If we do what we are good at then we can score more goals and we will win more games,” said Klopp.
“We don’t have to think about other teams and we will close the gap. It’s is all about our situation, we are not thinking about where the others are.
“I’ve played a lot of times with different teams in my life to know when we have a problem — and here we were the better team again and created more chances. We were in very promising situations, but didn’t score.
“I’ve been around football and I know there is going to be one day when it will click and we will score more. Yes, we have one win in seven, but in most of those games we have been the better team.
“Now the only thing to do is carry on and hope that something happens. We are still confident. It’s our duty to be confident because the players have quality.”
Quality is not always enough, however.
There has to be defensive organization, which was lacking when Joselu scored Newcastle’s 36th-minute equalizer following an excellent through ball from former Reds midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.
“It was a good pass, but if the defenders see it, they have to step forward and get him offside,” Klopp said. “We made one mistake and it’s 1-1. Newcastle made a lot more mistakes.”
Benitez was pleased with his team’s performance against the club he once guided to a Champions League triumph — particularly because millionaire businesswoman Amanda Staveley was looking on, amid speculation she could be linked with a takeover of the Magpies.
“We have got a point at home, which isn’t the best, but against one of the top teams, you will take it,” said Benitez, now well on the way to becoming a fan favorite at northeast side Newcastle.