KLOPP HITS BACK AT DYCHE OVER STURRIDGE CHEAT SLUR
JURGEN KLOPP has hit back at Sean Dyche, insisting Daniel Sturridge is “not a cheat.”
Burnley boss Dyche responded to Klopp’s complaints about robust tackling during Liverpool’s win on Wednesday by accusing Sturridge of diving. Klopp, who has lost Joe Gomez for six weeks with a fractured tibia suffered in a challenge by Ben Mee, says
Dyche has ignored Phil Bardsley’s bad tackle on Alberto Moreno (above). “Daniel Sturridge is not a cheat,” said the Liverpool boss.
“He’s the kind of person to bring up another subject but I’m not sure if he spoke about Bardsley against Alberto Moreno.
“After the game he talked about one situation where a player went down without contact. Sometimes a striker expects a tackle and tries to avoid that by jumping.”
The Reds take on Bournemouth today with the chance to go top of the table. Their return of 12 wins and three draws is better than Liverpool managed in the first 15 games of all their 18 title-winning campaigns yet they still trail Manchester City by two points. But Klopp refuses to lose heart. “How can you moan about that?” said the Liverpool boss. “When we go to the dressing room it’s not like ‘oh, City won again.’ We expect them to win all the time apart from the games against us.
“You cannot play against two teams - the one on the other side of the pitch and the one in your mind. Whatever they get at the end of the season they probably deserve. It will be the same for us.”