Klopp defends star duo from ‘pub team’ jibe

JURGEN KLOPP backed captain Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson after the pair’s calamitous error helped gift Arsenal victory at the Emirates. In his role as a Sky Sports pundit, Roy Keane questioned Van Dijk’s part in all three Gunners goals. The former Manchester United midfielder said: ‘He’s entitled to have a bad game, of course, but to give away three goals in such a big game, you know it’s going to hurt them at the end of the season. ‘The intensity from the first whistle to the last from Liverpool, in possession and without, I can’t believe how bad they were. ‘The goals they gave away, they were like a pub team.’ But Reds manager Klopp hit back, saying: ‘Our two main guys had a misunderstanding (for the second goal). They are human beings. That makes what they usually do even more special. ‘Could we have defended the first goal better? Yes, 100 per cent. We are not happy, they are not happy. But that’s it now, we don’t have to make more of it. ‘You can play super here and still lose. We take it, deal with it and go from there. We did not play enough football. We were not involved in the game enough. In general we can admit Arsenal deserve the three points.’ On Ibrahima Konate’s red card for two bookings, Klopp added: ‘A lot of things were against of us today. This referee (Anthony Taylor) gave me a red card against Man City for a wrestling situation between Bernardo Silva and Mo Salah. ‘Today, it was the same situation with Diogo Jota but no red card. It is unbelievable — (Kai) Havertz was holding on Konate for the first yellow card. Then Havertz goes down and the referee gives Konate a yellow card. ‘Gabriel does the same to (Darwin) Nunez and no yellow card.’ Van Dijk held his hands up for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal, which saw the Arsenal man slot into an empty net after a mix-up between the defender and Alisson. ‘That is a big moment in the game. I should have made a better decision, it hurts for me,’ said Van Dijk. ‘After the break we were so good and had opportunities and were dominant. The turning point is my responsibility, I should try to clear it. ‘Obviously these things don’t happen too often in my career, but I will recover from this. ‘It is a physical game and I am not looking for excuses. At the highest level it is a split decision. Alisson touched me a little bit and he couldn’t clear it, but I take full responsibility. ‘Obviously for every team in the league it is a tough place to go to. It hurts losing. The way we did it today and in so many ways was unnecessary. ‘Seeing the fans coming all the way down, it is not nice to be involved in mistakes.’