Stop this carry on, Jurgen!
VERDICT FROM THE AMEX STADIUM
JURGEN KLOPP has spent most of this season doing his best Kenneth Williams impression.
“Infamy, infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Too many injuries, not enough substitutes, a chaotic fixture schedule and too little time to recover between games… something has been getting his goat for much of the campaign so far.
The Liverpool boss even labelled this game “a crime” because his side were forced to play the Saturday lunchtime kick-off after fulfilling a Champions League fixture on Wednesday.
Th The big grin we saw s so much of last seaso season has all too often been replaced by a s scowl.
It h hasn’t always been easy to agree with Klopp, given the fact L Liverpool and the r rest of the Prem Premier League’s big b boys really do have the resources to de deal with what’s being thrown at them them.
Aft After all, does it really make that much of a differ difference whether a tea team kicks off at 12.30 12.30pm or 3pm three days after their last fixture?
Bu But here at the Amex it was hard not to feel some degree of symp sympathy with him after a very tight offside decision and a soft, stopp stoppage-time penalty award – which involved a VAR interv intervention of course – went again against his side.
It h had just been starting to look like a positive conclusion migh might be found after a tough few d days for the Anfield boss, wh who had seen his depleted side beaten by Atalanta at home in midweek.
A lovely Diogo Jota strike was worthy of lifting the Reds back to the top of the table in style.
Neal Maupay (below) missed an early penalty to also offer the Reds chief some proof that not everyone in the game outside of Liverpool is conspiring against him.
In the end, though, Klopp left the South Coast with even more belief that the football gods, as well as the mere mortals who make the rules, do indeed have it in for him.
The sarcastic applause he aimed at the officials after Pascal Gross converted his late equaliser said as much. As did the fascinating exchange he got involved in with BT Sport’s pitchside reporter Des Kelly.
Klopp talked in that interview about wanting to move on from his gripes.
The questions about them will keep coming thick and fast – but after this weekend he really MUST change the record.
The danger is gripes can quickly turn to excuses, and when they do they will offer his players an out for the points they are dropping.
Klopp, of course, is just trying to protect his players but his frustrations have become the Liverpool narrative rather than what is happening on the pitch.
What is clear already is that every team is going to suffer with injuries this season.
And every club at some point or other will have to handle a set of circumstances that they are not used to – and perhaps not comfortable with.
Liverpool are in that difficult moment now.
More than ever they need their manager to focus solely on navigating them through it.