Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes that the focus should be on the game in midweek despite the loss against Manchester City
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, while speaking to the media (h/t Liverpool Echo) post the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City believes there is not much time to dwell on the loss and the focus shifts to the game on Tuesday.
The Reds take on Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge next. Liverpool and City under Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been the fiercest rivals for the past few seasons and have been compared on an equal playing field.
However, the story this season has been a little different. While City are still in two cup competitions and fighting with Arsenal for the title, Liverpool’s only hope of a good season-ender is a top-four finish.
The drastic difference between the two sides was on show today and while we played a decent first half and took the lead through Mohamed Salah, it was always going to be a tough night for the players and manager.
Two quick second-half goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne sealed the fate of the game and a fourth by Jack Grealish was just pure embarrassment for the Liverpool supporters.
From seeing our team compete with the very best to getting demolished by the top teams in City and Real Madrid, the fall has been drastic.
Klopp was naturally disappointed after the display from his side but believes that there is no point in dwelling on the loss and that the focus should be shifted to the important game against Chelsea mid-week.
“We have to lift the players tomorrow. I told the boys there’s nothing to say tonight, everything is obvious. Everyone can think about it themselves. We will talk about it tomorrow. We need to play better on Tuesday.”
Klopp sounds defeated with his comments and why shouldn’t he be… the players were terrible against City. It was assumed that the league games against City, Chelsea and Arsenal will define our season and with the first game not going our way, we have to do better in the coming games to get a fair chance of finishing the top four.
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The performance today was reflective of the form that we have shown this season and the players have to respond to the defeat with a strong response. It would start with the game on Tuesday with Graham Potter’s out-of-form Chelsea, a direct rival in our fight for the top four, and anything other than a victory will not justify it.