‘Masterpiece’ needed to fix Reds
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said it would take a “masterpiece” for him to figure out how to solve the Premier League champions’ crisis after a sixth consecutive home defeat as relegation-threatened Fulham won 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was at fault for the only goal in first-half stoppage time.
Mario Lemina outmuscled Salah to win the ball inside the Liverpool box before firing low across Alisson Becker into the far corner.
The champions have collapsed from leading the Premier League at Christmas to looking increasingly likely to miss out on next season’s Champions League.
Liverpool are seventh in the table and having played more games than all of their rivals for a Champions League place.
An injury crisis has played a major part, particularly in central defence with the talismanic Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip ruled out for the season.
However, Klopp is also now under the spotlight as his decision to make seven changes from Thursday’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea did little to aid his side’s confidence.
“We never had a momentum in the season,” said Klopp.
“You can see it’s still in the boys. They still have it all but at the moment can’t show it. It would be a masterpiece to find out how we change that overnight.”
Liverpool’s best chance of a return to the Champions League may now be by winning that competition for a seventh time.
Klopp’s men travel to Budapest for the second leg of their last 16 tie against
Leipzig tomorrow, leading 2-0 from the first leg.
Liverpool will need a major improvement to triumph in Europe’s elite club competition, with Jamie Carragher, who played in their 2005 Champions League winning side, claiming the current crop are “mentality midgets”.
Pressed on Liverpool’s lack of fight, Klopp conceded their mentality could be questioned.
“The reaction football-wise was kind of OK. There are a lot of players who are not on the pitch who can’t be a leader in
this moment. That is clear,” Klopp said.
“We don’t have the mentality we are used to but the boys want to win games and I saw that today. We still made mistakes and that’s the problem.
“We have to make sure the mistakes we make are not accountable. We have to make sure we win a game again. If it is 1-0 that is fine.”
Admitting their top four bid is no longer his main focus, Klopp added: “It [the top four] is really not my concern at the moment. I cannot think about that. We have to win a football game.”