MANIC SCREECH PREACHER: HENDERSON RUCK INFLAMES KLOPP THE HUMAN CATHERINE WHEEL
PERHAPS the free-kick lit his fuse. There were Liverpool, 10 yards from goal, with barely 90 seconds on the clock. Opportunities in games of this nature do not come much better.
David de Gea had handled Ashley Young’s back pass and referee Michael Oliver made the call. What Liverpool needed was some ingenuity, something a little bit different. What they got was a complete mess, as James Milner’s shot was charged down.
On the touchline, Jurgen Klopp clasped his hands to his head and then began to screech out instructions. There is no surprise about Liverpool’s manager being animated but there was something different about him at Old Trafford, something manic.
The stakes in a single 90 minutes had never been higher than against Manchester United and there was no disguising Klopp’s heightened emotional state. With every stray ball, every missed tackle he looked like a human catherine wheel, all waving arms and sparks.
Few Liverpool players escaped his wrath. Daniel Sturridge, within two minutes of replacing Roberto Firmino, received a volley for failing to follow Chris Smalling as he brought the ball out of defence; ditto Mohamed Salah, for not tracking back with the intensity Klopp demanded.
You could keep going — Gini Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Joel Matip, Sadio Mane. Even through the din United’s supporters created in the second period, all of them would have known exactly what Klopp was bellowing.
The most revealing exchanges, however, were reserved for Xherdan Shaqiri and Jordan Henderson. The Swiss midfielder seemed to receive a rollicking before he even went on, such was Klopp’s concern that the maverick would not listen to orders.
Then there was Henderson. Liverpool’s captain had been controlled and disciplined but he was withdrawn to accommodate Shaqiri and as Klopp imparted some last instructions, Henderson walked straight past him and headed to the dugout.
It was the last thing Klopp wanted. He beckoned a startled Henderson back and told him: ‘You didn’t shake my hand.’ The England international did not want to get in the way as Klopp was giving Shaqiri a talking to but it was not what the German wanted to see.
But, then again, little pleased Klopp. Liverpool may have returned to the top of the table and are now in control of their destiny yet to see him at the final whistle, you got a sense of how he felt. It is not wrong to suggest this was his team’s most disappointing Premier League performance this year.
Once again, the television cameras captured his feeling as he told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with a dismissive shake of the head, the game was ‘f***ing s***’.
Asked about his mood afterwards, Klopp said: ‘ Animated! I learned a new word. Excited. I look like that, sorry. It was a game where the mood dropped. It wasn’t like we put them under pressure with one ball after another into the box, you saw them passing it around the boys constantly.
‘This game was a fight but a different one from what we expected and we didn’t adapt like we should have. It was not brilliant but we lose here more often than we draw. It feels like we should have won but it was the same against Bayern when they came and defended with all they have.
‘ Something changed in the world of football — everyone adapted to it and we have to make sure we adapt.’
Something changed on the touchline, too. Yes, Klopp lost it at the final whistle with referee Kevin Friend after the draw at West Ham earlier this month.
But this was a sustained spell of mania. A full 90 minutes of it. It was the first time in the campaign that he has looked like a man aware of the magnitude of what is at stake. If Liverpool are going to get over the line, they are going to need a sense of calm.