No one saw it coming, even Liverpool themselves. After more than a year being unbeaten at home, Klopp’s side have suffered back-to-back defeats against Swansea City and Southampton. The former somewhat got their title quest dangling while the latter saw them losing an EFL Cup final spot, where they could have faced arch-rivals Manchester United.
The home side clearly left their arsenal in the dressing room and the visitors were more than happy to pin in their own half, not allowing Liverpool to get into their attacking rhythm. The tactic proved to be a masterstroke and nearing the closing stage of the match, Shane Long’s strike earned them a 1-0 victory (2-0 on aggregate).
No doubt, it was the most optimistic path for the Merseysiders to clinch a silverware after failing in two finals last season. They were humbled by Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and then battered to submission by Sevilla in the Europa League. Being the third semi-final under Klopp’s watch in Liverpool, it was fairly disappointing as the home side stumbled to express their hunger on the pitch.
As expected, social media was stormed by the Liverpool faithful, expressing their dissatisfactions and some were asking their manager to be shown the exit door. Particularly one fan named Dave faced the glares of the camera as he made an endless criticism about Klopp while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live.
In a minute-long tirade, he explained why the former Borussia Dortmund boss should be replaced.
“Jurgen Klopp has to go, he’s not a trophy-winning manager,” says the Reds supporter.
“He’s lost three finals with Dortmund, two with Liverpool. He keeps playing minor players in FA Cup matches, we’ve lost in this semi-final, the club’s going backwards.
“He has not brought in somebody to replace [Sadio] Mane at the Africa Cup of Nations, he has not sorted out his defence, he hasn’t replaced [Simon] Mignolet or [Loris Karius] in goal, they’re not good enough.
“They have not won a Premier League match in January, they’re dropping from second to fourth. They will end up in the Europa League at best.
“Everton could overtake them the way that Liverpool are going. Liverpool is a club based on winning trophies and Jurgen Klopp is not a trophy-winning manager”.
From Klopp and co., a huge chunk of fans turned their attention to Dave.
Despite the spirit-sapping knockout, the club are still aiming to go full distance with the German. His high-tempo style of play was immediately instilled into the team, where they started the season brilliantly.
However, the similar strategy is now appearing to be a recipe for disaster as Sadio Mane’s inclusion in the Africa Cup of Nations and tight schedule have got the well-oiled team to fumble and tumble. Most clubs who visit Anfield are happy to “park the bus” and hit on the counter-attack as Liverpool’s backline remain a work in progress. You don’t need a UEFA certificate to highlight that Klopp has no plan B to help his side at the moment. More worryingly, there seem to be no stopgaps available in the winter window.
Klopp will be upset to hear such comments from a Liverpool fan but it’s also an alarming call. The only way for the German to make fences is planning out a brand new blueprint to get his side into winning ways once again.
Even club legend Jamie Carragher criticised Daniel Sturridge after the match, as the England forward has lost his golden touch in front of goal.
