Defensive woes worry Klopp
LIVERPOOL’S formidable home record was meant to provide the platform for a tilt at three trophies this season, but Saturday’s surprise 3-2 English Premier League defeat by Swansea spoilt that idea.
If Jurgen Klopp’s team are to overcome Southampton at Anfield in the second leg of a League Cup semifinal tonight and reach Wembley, their defending will have to improve significantly.
The shock of suffering their first defeat at Anfield in almost 12 months is still being felt by the club’s supporters, with a run of just two points won from the last nine available damaging Liverpool’s chances of landing a first league title since 1990.
But for the next few days the Merseysiders’ focus will be on cup football.
The visit of Premier League rivals Southampton, who lead 1-0 from the first leg, will be followed by a home match against secondtier Wolves in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.
Klopp expects success in both ties. He also expects much better defending from a team who have conceded six goals in their last three league matches.
“We are not happy about the last results,” the Liverpool manager said.
“But I understand football in a different way. The final mistake in a game, sometimes it’s the goalkeeper, sometimes it’s the defender, sometimes it’s somebody else, but most of the time there are seven or eight players involved.
“That’s the defending I’m talking about. Everybody’s responsible for everything. We really have to do better,” Klopp said.
Centre back Joel Matip, a substitute against Swansea, is in line for a start since December 11.
An ankle injury was followed by an extraordinary eligibility row with Fifa as the world governing body pondered whether Matip should be barred from playing for his club during the Africa Cup of Nations after refusing to appear for Cameroon at the tournament.
With Fifa ruling Matip can play for Liverpool, losing finalists in last season’s League Cup final after being beaten in a penalty shootout by Manchester City, he can now compete for a starting spot with Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan.
Southampton head to Anfield with renewed confidence, having ended a run of four straight league defeats with a 3-0 win over champions Leicester City last weekend.