adminJurgen Klopp believes his struggling team “can’t finish off the situation” after Liverpool suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to relegation candidates Leeds at Anfield on Saturday night.
Crysencio Summerville’s last-minute goal snatched all three points for the visitors and leaves Liverpool in worrying position. They’re ninth in the Premier League, 13 points behind leaders Manchester City and eight adrift of Newcastle in fourth.
“It was a set-back, absolutely,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“I thought we had a really good start then conceded a freakish goal. We scored the equaliser but for some reason it didn’t give us the security back. We struggled to control the game and gave too many balls away.
“The boys tried, we had good possession and had big chances but, in the end, if it is 1-1 and you defend the situation around the second goal like this, you leave everything open. In the end, it was two versus one in the box and they can finish off the situation. The problem is we cannot control this type of game at the moment.”
Leeds opened the scoring on Saturday night after Rodrigo pounced on a mix up between Joe Gomez and Alisson. Mohamed Salah equalised for the hosts, who looked the most likely to score again before Summerville sent the visiting fans wild with a late winner.
Klopp added: “Maybe some players are overplayed, Harvey [Elliott] has been exceptional for us this season. He had a good start but couldn’t keep it going. Thiago has been ill, up front the same [players] play all the time – they are the three strikers we have left. We have to fight and that is what we must do.”
When asked how Liverpool can recover from their poor start, Klopp said: “We have to bring our quality on to the pitch and we fight against it. We had problems from the first day, injury wise. Players have had to play from the first day. It’s our situation and it means we have to help ourselves, and that is what we will do.”
Leeds are up to 16th in the Premier League following their surprise win. Manager Jesse Marsch was under significant pressure at Elland Road following four consecutive defeats – including a 3-2 home loss to newly promoted Fulham last time out.
Leeds fans even chanted ex-boss Marcelo Bielsa’s name during their 2-0 defeat to Leicester earlier this month, yet Marsch received their adulation at Anfield for leading his side to victory. Goalkeeper Illan Meslier was also celebrated for making several big saves. – DailyMirror.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter