Klopp infuriated by Baggies late show

HIS mood was unmistakable from the moment he walked into the room. Jurgen Klopp is an open book in terms of emotions and this, plainly, was not going to be a day for humour.

Liverpool’s manager had just seen a two-goal lead frittered away, resulting in two points being squandered in their pursuit of a place in next season’s Champions League. At the final whistle, Klopp had stomped on to The Hawthorns pitch and growled in the ear of Joe Gomez, who had made a mistake in the build up to West Brom’s 88th-minute equaliser.

‘I think if you are the better team, you should win,’ said Klopp, whose side were pegged back by goals from Jake Livermore and Salomon Rondon. ‘We were the better team, we didn’t win. I don’t feel that that point will help West Brom massively.

‘It feels like a complete waste of points, they don’t need it, we would have needed it. They are all happy now, we are not happy. We stay in the league; they don’t stay in the league. It’s kind of a strange situation. I am a big football fan.

‘You have to do everything to create the best circumstances for all the boys to deliver. You let the home team decide if they water the pitch or not — it’s not only football. It’s also dangerous for injuries if the pitch is really dry’

Liverpool thought they could have won without engaging top gear against the Premier League’s basement team and, as thoughts began to drift towards Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final with Roma, they were caught out.

In the grand scheme, the ‘useless comeback’ — Klopp’s description — will not prevent West Brom from slithering into the Championship and their fate can be sealed as early as today, should Swansea take a point from Manchester City.

Danny Ings gave Liverpool the lead on four minutes before Mohamed Salah scored his 31st Premier League goal of the season to put the Reds in control. However, Livermore and Rondon clinched a point for the Baggies late on.