Klopp to hunt for Liverpool’s ‘mojo’ after third away loss
BELGRADE: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thinks his side needs to rediscover its mojo after a third successive away Champions League defeat left its qualification hopes in the balance.
A win in Belgrade would have left the Reds, group C leaders going into the game, needing to avoid defeat in their final two matches to qualify, but they lost 20 against Red Star Belgrade to leave things wide open.
Two first half goals from ¤300,000 ($NZ508,000) signing Milan Pavkov — the 24yearold scoring his first European goals in only his 11th appearance — were enough to beat the offcolour Reds.
Klopp admitted, after failing to score in Belgrade, and in Naples previously, he needed to take a closer look at what had changed.
Asked whether Liverpool now had an issue playing away he said: ‘‘In the game, not in general we lost it.
‘‘I saw a few games like this already and it is really difficult to find your mojo back.
‘‘You don’t find solutions on the pitch, you solve problems. I don’t say it is [not]already serious if you lose twice, but we [really] have to make sure it will not not happen again as the next game is an away game [against Paris St Germain] before a very difficult home game against Napoli.
‘‘We had a lot of moments when we could get in control of the game and we didn’t do it, we just made the wrong decision.’’
The turning point came as early as the 17th minute, when Daniel Sturridge, preferred up front to Roberto Firmino, blazed a chance he should have buried from close range.
Klopp was asked what went wrong.
‘‘The first big chance to Daniel was a very big one. We gave them too many setpieces. They scored with a header after the corner and the second goal was out of the blue.
‘‘We gave the ball away and that’s not cool in a game like this, an atmosphere like this, a situation like this. You then have to play your best football in a negative mood. It was a blow.’’
Red Star coach Vladan Milojevic was delighted with the performance, the first Champions League group stage win for a Serbian side.
‘‘It was a great match for us,’’ he said.
‘‘We are dedicating this game to our supporters because they were phenomenal. The whole country lived for this.
‘‘We won against a big club and this is a first win in the Champions League for any club in this country and this is why this generation can become equal to earlier generations and enter history.’’