KLOPP’S CROCKS CLOSE IN ON FINAL
LIVERPOOL took one step towards the Capital One Cup final last night but their injury crisis deepened as three key players suffered hamstring problems. Jordon Ibe gave Jurgen Klopp’s side victory in their semi-final first leg at Stoke, but Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren both hobbled off before half-time and Kolo Toure pulled up clutching his hamstring in the second half. With Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel out, these injuries leave the club with no fit senior centre-halves. Yet if their weekend defeat to West Ham at Upton Park provided the lowest moment of Klopp’s reign so far, the transformation he managed to mastermind here was deeply impressive. The solitary goal did not do justice to the performance Liverpool produced at a ground that has given them nightmares in the past. Sloppy starts have exasperated Klopp but there was no messing about last night. Roberto Firmino was first out the traps. With only 34 seconds on the clock, he forced a flying save from Jack Butland. Adam Lallana was next to try his luck with a 25-yard drive that Butland gathered. But then came two sizeable disruptions, with Coutinho and Lovren both pulling up lame, then grabbing at a hamstring. James Milner, only just back from a calf strain, was introduced and Lucas Leiva dropped into central defence. Liverpool opened the scoring in 37 minutes. Milner set Lallana scurrying down the right. He squared for Allen, whose mis-hit shot presented Ibe — Coutinho’s replacement — with a chance he could not miss. Stoke responded with a header from Marko Arnautovic that skidded across Liverpool’s six-yard box, but the visitors remained in control until the interval. Mark Hughes introduced Jonathan Walters after the break and suddenly Stoke seemed sharper. Yet Liverpool were not for being bullied, Lucas thundering into a challenge with Bojan with such speed and intent the ball suffered a puncture and needed replacing. Klopp was content to let the action unfold and stayed calm on the sidelines until the final whistle. The sign of a job well done. ‘The biggest problem for us is we have two and maybe three injured players again,’ he said. ‘It is very frustrating. ‘The only thing we can criticise is our finishing again. Everything was good, but we don’t make enough goals.’