Jürgen Klopp has demanded Liverpool respond to the worst display of his Anfield reign when they host Ajax on Tuesday after he delivered “four or five days of absolute truth” following the rout by Napoli.
Time has not mellowed the Liverpool manager’s assessment of the 4-1 defeat in Naples last Wednesday. Klopp admitted it was a defensive shambles that asked questions of everyone involved, himself included, and left him in a challenging situation. He insists Liverpool must react with a united, solid performance to kickstart their Champions League campaign.
“I watched the game back plenty of times and it was a real horror show, to be honest,” said Klopp, who will be without the injured Andy Robertson until after the international break. “It was the worst game we played since I was here. We had a few bad games – everyone remembers Aston Villa [beating his side 7-2] and some others where we were just not up to speed, but there were always glimpses in these games. In this particular game: nothing.
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“Eight out of 11 were below their level and the three others were not on a top level, just a normal game. In football like this, you solve all individual problems as a team and that’s the first thing we have to do, to follow common ideas again. Everything what we did since I am here and everything my teams do in football is based on really solid if not perfect defending. That’s where it all starts and that is what we had to work on.”
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Klopp admits the Napoli performance put him in the rare position of questioning Liverpool’s players, and he did not hold back over recent days, when training has focused on basic defensive principles. As Joël Matip put it: “Sometimes it hurts but in a good team, which I think we are, you can speak about these truths. Everybody knows we have to improve.”
Klopp said: “Did I question the players? Generally, no. In this situation, yes. I know the players want to sort the situation: we are not over the moon about our season so far. In this game it looked like everyone wanted to sort the problem out by themselves and that didn’t give us the structure to work together.
“There are four or five days now of absolute truth. We didn’t hide anything, we didn’t hold back anything, we just said it how it is. Not to knock the players down or whatever, just to make sure where we are now is the starting point for us and we make sure we sort the problems together on the pitch.”
Klopp added: “Is this the situation I wanted? No. But now you are in it you find it interesting and challenging. I watched the game back plenty of times and I would have asked a lot of questions about the people and the manager and the specific players. That is absolutely OK but it cannot be our biggest problem in this moment and we have to respond.”
Klopp has said he expects Liverpool fans will respect a minute’s silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth before the game. Liverpool have asked Uefa for permission to commemorate the late queen before the fixture. Sections of the club’s support booed the national anthem before the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals at Wembley last season, raising questions over how a tribute to the British monarch’s death may be observed at Anfield.
Klopp believes a minute’s silence, if allowed by Uefa, would be treated with respect and highlighted Liverpool supporters’ applause for Cristiano Ronaldo in the seventh minute of last season’s game at Manchester United after the death of the player’s new-born son.
“I think it is the right thing to do but I don’t think our people need any kind of advice from me for showing respect,” said Klopp on the proposed silence. “There are plenty of examples where our people showed exactly the right respect. One which surprised me and I was really proud of that moment was last season when we played Manchester United around a very sad situation with Cristiano Ronaldo’s family. And that is what I expect. For me, it is clear that’s what we have to do.”
Klopp lost his mother Elisabeth, who was aged 81, last year and was unable to attend her funeral because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. He said he was acutely aware of the grief felt by those close to the queen.
The Liverpool manager said: “I am 55 years old and she is the only queen of England I ever knew. As far as I know, I don’t know her, but the thing is you can see she was a really warm, nice, loved lady and that is all that I need to know. Because of my personal experience not too long [ago, I know] it is obviously not about what I think, but what people felt who are much closer to her. I respect their grief a lot and that is why I will show my respect tomorrow night with the minute’s silence if it goes through.”
Predicted teams
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Núñez, Díaz. Subs from: Adrián, Davies, Gomez, Phillips, Milner, Arthur, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Jota, Firmino. Injured: Robertson, Henderson, Jones, Konaté, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keïta, Kelleher, Ramsay.
Ajax (4-3-3): Pasveer; Rensch, Timber, Basey, Blind; Berghuis, Álvarez, Taylor; Tadic, Kudus, Bergwijn. Subs from: Stekelenburg, Wijndal, Kaplan, Sánchez, Baas, Magallán, Pierie, Aertsson, Milovanovic, Gooijer, Klaassen, Grillitsch, Brobbey, Ocampos, Gorter, Lucca, Conceição.
Referee: Artur Dias (Portugal)
- Guardian
