The Star Malaysia

A pain in the rear

Klopp admits defence is still Liverpool’s Achilles heel

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LIVERPOOL: Juergen Klopp admitted his Liverpool side must improve defensivel­y after more problems at the back cost them two home points in a 1-1 English Premier League draw with Burnley.

Liverpool dominated against Sean Dyche’s team but had to come from behind with Mohamed Salah rescuing a point for Klopp after mistakes had gifted Scott Arfield the opening goal for the visitors.

At the end of a week in which Liverpool also lost 5-0 at Manchester City and were held at home by Sevilla in their opening Champions League group game, Klopp was left trying to lift his frustrated team and supporters.

“Yes, result wise it is frustratin­g but honestly I am as a person not like this,” said Klopp, who made seven changes from the Sevilla game.

“If I can get over the few more than unlucky situations then it is my job to see the performanc­e. Why we feel so disappoint­ed or frustrated is because we see what this team can do.

“Seven changes and playing this type of football, no one should take it for granted.

“It shows we have quality. Now we have to use this quality consistent­ly. We could have won pretty much all our games so far when you think about the performanc­e.”

Liverpool’s weaknesses in defence are becoming a glaring issue for Klopp who admitted that he was aware of that fact, given the domination his team had enjoyed over Burnley in terms of possession and shots.

“It feels strange, it feels wrong but it is a fact we drew,” said Klopp.

“A lot of parts of the game I was really happy with. We made seven changes but we were still really fluent, offensive football, dominant football.

“We created a finishing situation often enough, it could have been more often. It was a very discipline­d performanc­e from the opponent but also discipline­d from my side.

“It was a discipline­d performanc­e but just that one goal. This is where we have to improve.” — AFP

 ?? — Reuters ?? Fire away: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah taking a shot at goal in the match against Burnley at Anfield on Saturday.
— Reuters Fire away: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah taking a shot at goal in the match against Burnley at Anfield on Saturday.

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