Klopp admits Reds need reinforcements
LIVERPOOL manager Jürgen Klopp has admitted that the club are working hard to sign a new defender before the transfer window slams shut on Aug 31, after an abject defensive display saw them fail to beat Watford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
Liverpool have been tipped as potential title contenders this season, but the three goals they conceded to Watford in Saturday’s 3-3 draw all came as a result of defensive mishaps.
“We are still working on all parts,” Klopp said. “We are in talks and we work on all parts of the game. The squad at the moment is not too wide for a lot of games. That’s it.”
It was a case of brand new season but same old problems for Liverpool, as the club’s much discussed defensive frailties once again proved their undoing.
Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip’s slack manmarking was repeatedly punished, while Alberto Moreno and Trent Alexander-Arnold both struggled down the flanks.
Klopp acknowledged that Liverpool’s defending was not up to scratch, although also stressed that the club will not be able to solve all of their problems in the transfer market.
“We have to defend better,” he admitted. “Of course we know it’s an important thing. I don’t feel comfortable but I know what to do.
“We got things wrong and what do I want to do to sort it? Buy a new player in that position? I am not really sure if it makes sense. We have to work on it because we did well in preseason in this situation.”
The former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher appears to agree with that assessment, and he claimed that even signing Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton wouldn’t be enough to immediately rectify the problems with the club’s back line.
“It’s down to the manager and one man won’t change Liverpool’s defence – on average they concede almost fifty goals a season,” he said on Sky Sports.
“Their set-pieces are the worst in the League. You see the same thing year in, year out. It’s not rocket science, set-pieces and counter-attacks.” – The Independent MANCHESTER UNITED