MANE MAKES KLOPP WAIT
Southampton strike late to deny new boss his first Liverpool win
WHEN the flash bulbs were popping and the cameras were rolling at his grand unveiling, Liverpool’s owners hoped Jurgen Klopp would start his reign with a 100 per cent record.
A sequence of draws, however, was not the plan. Three games into the Klopp era and we are still awaiting the first victory, as another anxious afternoon at Anfield ended with familiar feelings of frustration.
This should have been the landmark win, the game that provided Liverpool with some momentum and a towering header from Christian Benteke, celebrated exuberantly by the colourful manager, could not have come at a better moment.
All Liverpool had to do was defend for 13 minutes and keep their cool against a Southampton team that, by manager Ronald Koeman’s own admission, had not shown the same verve and dash going forward as they have done in recent weeks; all that was required was for Liverpool to do the simple things efficiently.
But. With Liverpool there is always a ‘but’. One cheap free-kick conceded, two defensive headers missed and three points quickly became one when Sadio Mane was able to bundle in from three yards to shatter the fragile optimism.
‘Many things I saw I am fine with,’ said Klopp. ‘I saw two good teams fighting for the result. We had moments and situations, and we made a goal. Then we concede one and it feels like the end of the world.’
Anfield can be one of the most formidable venues in football, a cauldron with noise levels that scramble the senses, but when it is quiet, as it was for long period of this contest, it becomes a challenging place for the home team to play.
No longer does this stadium provide the rich supply of victories it once did. In the 21 games they have played in all competitions here in 2015, they have only won nine and the trust that was once a given between fans and players is no longer there.
‘It is not because of the atmosphere,’ said Klopp. ‘It’s not that we stopped our game physically, but we didn’t believe we could turn this game, switch this game.
‘That’s a problem. That’s why we are not calm enough in the moments when we need to change the game when we have the last pass.
‘I don’t understand this pressure in this moment but the guys feel it. That’s the thing. They work so hard, they are full of concentration, everything is there.
‘We have to work and I hope that we can enjoy it. You can always come back. That is what we have to understand.’
The more that this accomplished Southampton side settled into a rhythm — passing and probing and looking to cause problems — the volume was almost turned to mute as the home fans became increasingly anxious. Only Klopp’s shrill whistles to impart orders broke the eerie silence.
If the atmosphere was uncomfortable, it reflected Liverpool’s performance. They were organised but as an attacking force they kept running down dead-ends and the biggest problem for Saints keeper Maarten Stekelenburg was the dropping temperatures.
Southampton, by contrast, looked ominous every time they sped forward. Klopp had made a point of talking about the three-pronged menace of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic and Mane in his press confer- ence and they showed why he was right to highlight them. But the one thing Southampton could not do was fashion a chance to make Liverpool suffer. They had openings, notably when Virgil van Dijk saw a header saved by Simon Mignolet, but nothing that could be described as clear-cut.
‘Our offensive performance was not good enough,’ Ronald Koeman noted. ‘Everyone in the dressing room is happy with a point but we are disappointed that we did not create enough or score more goals. That says everything when you come to a great stadium like Anfield.’
Mercifully, the tempo increased considerably after the break and it was Liverpool who began much the brighter, with Benteke’s introduction for the floundering Divock Origi giving them presence. They pushed forward, used the ball quicker and looked to stretch their visitors.
Alberto Moreno, the young Spanish left back, was a particular eye- catcher wearing red and, on the hour, he produced a moment that changed the mood, scampering back 30 yards to catch Mane and thundering into a challenge that won the ball cleanly.
It was magnificent defending and it altered the atmosphere. It lifted the crowd and they responded to lift the team and, in the 77th minute, they got the goal they craved when James Milner hoisted the ball into the middle and Benteke crashed a 12-yard header beyond the helpless Stekelenburg.
As Benteke was engulfed by his team-mates, Klopp hurtled down the touchline, leaping in the air and roaring his delight.
His assistant, Peter Krawietz, was similarly ecstatic, hurtling on to the pitch. Victory was within sight.
Yet the closer they got to it, the more nervous Liverpool became and in the 86th minute, James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick, awarded for a silly foul by Milner, was headed on by the substitutes Juanmi and Gaston Ramirez to Mane, who bundled in from close range.
Now it was the turn for Koeman and his entourage to celebrate and it was nothing more than they deserved, the only blip on their efforts was Mane being shown two yellow cards in injury time.
‘It was a great goal by Benteke but good reaction from my team,’ said Koeman. ‘We scored the equaliser but we can play better than we did.’
Klopp, absolutely, would say the same.