Liverpool “Cannot Go Like This” Insists Defender Following Embarrassing Loss

Liverpool were dire against Tottenham in their worst performance of the 2017-18 season to date and the worst showing of Jürgen Klopp’s tenure at the club. There is nothing good to say about it, no value in dissecting one moment’s tactics or one player’s blunder.

It was a game with no redeeming value in it to cap off a near two month stretch of uninspiring results barring one blazing goal-fest against overmatched minnows Maribor. There’s no sugar coating things, and thankfully, Joël Matip didn’t try to put on a positive spin.

“It cannot go like this,” Matip said to Sky Sports following Sunday’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Tottenham. “We gave them the opportunity. It was not that they played the perfect ball with our mistakes. We have to take care of them and have to stop them.”

It can’t, at least not if Liverpool want to keep sight even of the top four in a season when they were meant to secure their place in it while perhaps even pushing for their first Premier League-era title. Yet it’s increasingly hard to see things changing any time soon.

This is a side that have been struggling at both ends of the pitch since the summer transfer window closed without necessary reinforcements in defence and midfield having arrived. This is a side that has gone from presumptive title challengers to top four long-shot.

This is a side in crisis, and being dismantled so thoroughly by a Tottenham side they headed into the season believing they could finish ahead of only confirmed as much. Things can’t go on like this, but from the outside at least it’s hard to see where or how they change.

“It cannot be that we concede that many goals away,” Matip added. “I’m a defender and I should take care of this, [but] they were the better team. We only came back for a short time and that is not enough to win against Tottenham. We’ll try to strike back next week.”