Jurgen Klopp sounded the death knell for Liverpool’s Premier League title race hopes after a 3-2 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates.
The manager admitted ‘we’re not in the title race’ (relayed on Twitter by ESPN senior football writer James Olley) as a second league defeat left the Merseysiders languishing in mid-table with 10 points after eight games in the top flight.
Klopp: “We are not in the race for the title”
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) October 9, 2022
It’s a statement sure to invite some pretty tough memories from the Reds’ 2020/21 campaign when the manager also admitted that his team’s hopes of retaining the title were over after a defensive injury crisis left them barely a match. shadow of what they were before.
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READ MORE: Jamie Carragher laments ‘shocking’ Liverpool reality as Reds suffer second league defeat
This time, the root cause of our ongoing struggles is not so clear; while certainly a factor, we can’t point to the absence of key men in the middle of the park.
We showed flashes of pure quality throughout the thrilling encounter in north London, although we were simply too easy to expose when out of possession, a reality sure to make Pep Guardiola’s men salivate at the prospect of meeting inside a week.
Make no mistake: overcoming the hurdles of 2022/23 is categorically the biggest test of Klopp and his coaching staff yet.
We still have every faith in the man who brought the good old days back to Anfield but, for now, it looks set to be a long and rather uncomfortable season of football for fans who have grown accustomed to success again.
#Ep62 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Will Klopp Change Arsenal’s Formation? Núñez failing… and more!
