KLOPP CAN LEARN FROM CONTE

AFTER another disappointing result, Jurgen Klopp says that one signing in defence would not have changed Liverpool’s season. Perhaps that is true, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt. It remains a mystery why, having missed out on Virgil van Dijk, Klopp did not push for alternatives in that position. Not least because of the giant impact a single defensive signing had on the champions last year. In Chelsea’s case, the recruitment of David Luiz changed their season. It enabled Antonio Conte to play his preferred formation, solved the issue of the John Terry succession and was the springboard for the winning run that sent Chelsea top. The difference is, Chelsea had strong players surrounding Luiz. If one player could not have that impact at Liverpool it is because there are too many flaws in other defensive areas to take command as Chelsea did. If, as Klopp says, it remains too big a job for one man, that’s not an excuse — it’s the problem.