Sloppy Reds

KlopplaysintoteamafterAtalantaloss,hitsoutatrefandbroadcaster

LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp insists his side “deserved” to lose 2-0 to Atalanta yesterday after failing to muster a single shot on target inside 90 minutes at Anfield, but says he wasn’t even surprised they failed to once test Pierluigi Gollini between the sticks.

But the German also hit out at Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande and broadcasters BT Sport in his post-match interview.

The Reds slumped to a 2-0 defeat as they wasted a chance to book their spot in the Champions League knockout stages with two games to spare.

Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens’ second-half goals condemned the Premier League champions to defeat despite Liverpool having beaten the Serie A side 5-0 away from home three weeks earlier.

Liverpool went into the Group D clash knowing another three points would seal their passage into the last 16 but they played as if their spot had already been confirmed with an unusually tepid home display.

And Klopp told BT Sport: “Yes of course (I’m frustrated), that was not a good game. Most of the time, from both teams pretty much, both teams didn’t really create a lot until they scored the two goals.

“We saw it coming in the first half a little bit. We couldn’t defend it. It’s a deserved defeat in a difficult game.”

But Klopp was also frustrated with the referee, who he felt allowed the game to flow too freely instead of pausing play for fouls from either side.

Liverpool made five changes but instead of benefitting from fresh legs struggled to get into their groove, despite the return of top goalscorer Mohamed Salah up top and with Sadio Mane also keeping his spot in the front three.

“The ref brought a lot of tempo in the game, he didn’t whistle a lot,” Klopp continued.

“That makes it in a period like this even more difficult for both sides, not for us or for them, he just let the game run.

“It was unbelievably intense for the boys. In that period you need one or two breaks, three or four breaks, where you can take the ball back and it didn’t happen.

“We changed five times, that always costs rhythm, that’s normal. You take that.

“Usually when the first half is done you’re settled a bit more but for some players who didn’t play for a while you could see it was very intense for them so we didn’t really find a way in the game to create.

“We didn’t have enough bodies between the lines, not enough bodies in behind and all these kind of things. It’s easier to talk about a good game when you have a lot of situations you can talk about.

“You can ask me what you want tonight but there are not a lot of situations from us we can say, ‘Here it was close, there it was close.’ We had moments but not real, real chances and so, deserved defeat.”

Told that his side failed to have a single shot on target, the Liverpool manager then once again hit out at his side’s fixture scheduling.

After facing Atalanta, the Merseyside outfit will play in another broadcasted match on Saturday, taking on Brighton in the lunch time kickoff.

“I’m not surprised (we didn’t have a shot on target),” he said. “Then it’s difficult to win a game! It’s how I said, I’m afraid to say but I think it could happen not only to us but to other teams as well.

“You (BT Sport) my special friends ask us to go on Saturday at 12.30pm which is nearly a crime to be honest. It has nothing to do with the game tonight but congratulations for that.

“My only interest in the moment is that I get a thumbs up, nobody injured, let’s recover immediately. We take it.

“The boys are completely disappointed, frustrated, really, but we don’t have time for it to be honest. It’s just get fresh legs as quick as possible and go again, that’s it.” – Express Newspapers