Klopp Talk: “We Don’t Fight Enough”

It’s been a brutal week for Liverpool FC and their fans. After news broke about the European Super League last last weekend, Jürgen Klopp and his players conceded a late goal to a game Leeds United side, dropping points from a winning position despite having numerous chances. Thanks to other teams seemingly not capable of pulling away in the race for a top four spot, Liverpool came into their match today against Newcastle United still in the hunt.

In a pattern that we have seen all too often, Liverpool scored early, but failed to capitalize on big chance after big chance. Newcastle somehow stayed in the game, and (officially) scored in the 96th minute to steal a draw.

For Jürgen Klopp, it just wasn’t good enough in a game he and his team knew they needed to win.

“I don’t think you can create much more or better chances,” said Klopp. “We kept them alive. They deserved the goal because they scored another one a few minutes before but it didn’t count because of the new rules. But we don’t take this present. It’s really tough to take.”

Klopp was left wondering yet again what could have been. For the affable German, it was a matter of the team being to complacent and not taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

“Why it happened? I don’t know,” Klopp said. “But look, I saw, so we just have to keep the ball. In a specific way, we don’t fight enough. It’s not when we make a mistake. We had 70 percent of the ball and we should have 80. There are moments. We create enough chances, didn’t score with them, we have to create more and use them.”

Now, Liverpool are on the outside looking in with respect to qualifying for the Champion’s League next season.

“If you deserve it, you deserve it,” Klopp said of qualifying, in stark contrast to the proposed European Super League. “I didn’t see us that we deserved today playing Champions League next year. We have five games. We learn or we don’t play Champions League.”

For a team that has won everything under the sun over the last few seasons, it seems like these are lessons they are well aware of. Unfortunately, the nightmare season just keeps continuing, and Liverpool seem to keep coming up on the short end of the stick.