Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool are not experiencing a crisis of confidence, but has compared their situation to that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
It is clear that, at the moment, things are not working out for Liverpool as they have for much of the last four years.
With just three wins from nine games so far this season, there are flaws growing throughout Klopp’s side, which is largely made up of the same players who have led the club to success in the past.
As Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Brighton showed, there seems to be a mindset problem at the moment, with the team seemingly lacking in confidence.
Speaking ahead of Rangers’ visit on Tuesday night, Klopp addressed the situation, using Ronaldo and Messi as reference points.
“People ask ‘how can it be that these players are not full of confidence?'” he said.
“Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo, right now, is at the top of his confidence level?
“I would say that he was for a long time the best player in the world and now he is not doing well and it is not exactly the same.
“That happens to all of us. Lionel Messi played a season last year in which it was not exactly the same, because these kinds of things are really important to all of us.
“You have to work for it. You have to do and keep going and keep, take the little things, take a step in the right direction.
“And then the moment you’re really ready, come back.
“That’s what we’re doing. It’s not that we’re without confidence, but being 2-0 is not good for confidence.
“Being 3-2 up is usually very good, but you could see with the first attack they had, which we gave them more or less after 3-2, it was like ‘oh, there’s still an open game.’
“This is how it happens, especially collectively.
“In individual sports maybe you can fight for yourself, but in a team sport, we all have to do it together. That makes it a little more complicated, but that’s it.”
