Jurgen Klopp has explained that the high number of injuries within his Liverpool squad means he is struggling to make a “massive turnaround” in his fortunes this season.
The Reds have started the campaign slowly and are currently seventh in the Premier League table after their shock 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The FA Cup champions did not have Luis DÃaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip for the clash with Steve Cooper’s men and the German strategist has hinted that their lack of options generated ‘uncertainty’ between the teams.
“We knew it would be a tough game, that was made clear by our situation, even if Nottingham are not in a great situation,” the Reds boss said (via Liverpool Echo).
“It was a super intense week for us with two super intense games. We had to change late so it was clear we had to be ready to put up a big fight and the guys did.
“It was intense, three games, six days and a limited team, you can’t exactly make a massive change in the middle of the park. He created a bit of uncertainty, I understand. But I really thought we put up a real fight. It is definitely a frustration that his goal was avoidable.
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“It is not necessary for him to immediately pick up the players, we also have to feel it. It’s not that the guys didn’t want to, I saw the spirit was there, we took the vibe but who can we blame for not finishing situations? It’s just us. That’s why we have to deal with it.
“It’s a big blow for us because we wanted the three points and you look back at the game and think how that couldn’t happen, but that’s it.”
We may have dominated possession at the City Ground, but it didn’t look like we won in all honesty.
Virgil van Dijk had several decent chances from set pieces, but his decision-making was questionable at times and ex-Red Taiwo Awoniyi punished us at the other end.
It’s clear we’re feeling the effects of our long injury list, but there’s no excuse for the lackluster performances by many of our men on Saturday.
Fabinho looks like a shadow of his former self, while Curtis Jones did little to convince him that he should be a regular starter.
Many of our injured players face a long spell on the sidelines, but let’s hope for a much better performance against Ajax on Wednesday in the Champions League.
However, our visitor form is worrying. We’ve won just one game away from Anfield this season and that was the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers, but Klopp isn’t worried about Liverpool’s form on the road.
“You can’t compare these games,” he added. “It’s much better for us to play at home, it’s always been like that. Under normal circumstances we should have won this game. I don’t think it had anything to do with the way we played.”
#Ep63 of the Podcast The Empire of the Kop: Klopp’s ridiculous accusations of xenophobia, Núñez shining… and more!
