Liverpool stutter once again but Klopp keeps cool
JURGEN Klopp insisted title-chasing Liverpool were not losing their nerve as his side blinked first in the title race.
The Reds failed to regain top spot from Manchester City after being held to a goalless draw in the 233rd Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
A rare off day for Mohamed Salah, who wasted the visitors’ best two chances, coincided with an Everton performance of effort and energy.
And, while the Toffees’ wait for a win in this fixture was stretched to 17 matches, Blues fans took great delight in putting a significant dent in their rivals’ hopes of ending a 29-year wait for a title.
Jurgen Klopp’s side now trail City by a point with nine matches remaining.
It was a typical derby encounter and Everton contributed hugely to that as, despite just six wins in 14 home league matches, they took the game to their opponents.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Virgil Van Dijk plenty to think about with his harrying and harassing and although it occupied the Holland international he remained the calmest man on the pitch.
Similarly Bernard, preferred to Richarlison on the left wing, posed plenty of questions of full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, although Salah was even more of a problem for Lucas Digne without actually being dangerous.
The one chance Salah, still looking for his 50th league goal for the club, was presented to him when Morgan Schneiderlin got caught out of position in central midfield and Fabinho slipped through a pass, but the Egypt international narrowed the angle too much and Jordan Pickford pulled off a good save.
Everton’s best chance came when Theo Walcott broke down the right but he blazed wide under pressure from Andrew Robertson.
Salah wasted another chance 10 minutes into the second half when put through thanks to Joel Matip’s weaving run but the Egyptian delayed and Michael Keane got back to block.
The first substitution was Everton’s on the hour with Richarlison replacing Walcott, a sign Marco Silva sensed the game was still there to be won.
Klopp responded with a doublechange of Firmino and James Milner, with the former creating a headed chance for Mane within a minute of coming on.
Digne produced a goal-saving interception to prevent Fabinho converting Van Dijk’s knockdown while a sliding Bernard failed to connect with Richarlison’s cross on the break.
Liverpool were winning the midfield battle but Everton were defensively resolute, although Matip skewing a header wide contributed to their efforts.
A fourth draw in six matches is turning a stutter into more of a stumble for Liverpool but Klopp is not pressing the panic button just yet.
He took issue with a reporter who asked if he regretted not going for the “jugular more” and also cited the weather, specifically the wind, among the reasons for his side’s failure to claim a victory athat would have taken them a point above City.
Klopp said: “We don’t play PlayStation. Do you think we didn’t take enough risks today? Is that what you want to ask?
“That’s a really disappointing question, I have to say, because that means it’s like it’s so easy.
“Is there any draw we didn’t try to win? What is that? An extra attacker just to go wild nine match days (from the end)?
“You think it’s PlayStation – bring an extra attacker and football changes. It’s not like that. We are offensive enough, football doesn’t work like that. There are nine games to go, we don’t lose our nerve – like you, obviously.
“There’s not a moment where we say, ‘come on now, throw everything in that direction.’ You cannot play in the Premier League like that.
“We take all the risks, but you cannot take more than 100% risk, going nuts. It’s not about that.”
Klopp added: “A difficult game, opponent, and the weather circumstances didn’t help for football in general. It was just a fight. We were ready for that today and now we have a point more than before – all good.”
Interviewed by the BBC, Klopp spoke more about the conditions.
He said: “The wind does not help and there was a lot today.
“We had five or six big chances but Jordan Pickford or a defender was in between.
“I don’t think they had a real chance. Not perfect, but good enough.
“Getting a point from Everton is always a success because it is our most difficult away game of the season.
“Who wants to be top of the table at the beginning of March? It is nice but there are lots of games to play.”
Asked if he needed to tell his players not to panic, Klopp said: “I don’t think I have to give my players that advice because they know it already.”