Jurgen Klopp made an honest figure when he spoke of apologies, high lines and reinvention after Liverpool’s dismal 4-1 loss against Napoli.
Here are four key takeaways from the coach’s press conference after the loss in Italy:
‘had to say sorry’
After the final whistle, Klopp walked towards the fans traveling in the stadium and felt that it was the least he could do after all they invest to follow the team.
“It’s a long flight from Liverpool to Napoli, all the things that people invest. I get it 100 percent, it was a very disappointing night.
“Of course, I had to apologize to the fans.”
Reinvention time?
The coach spoke the words ‘reinvent us’ several times to different media after the loss, and that could mean many things.
From personnel to systems to approach, everything is open to scrutiny, not only after this loss but after the poor start to the season. And Klopp clearly expects more.
“We have to reinvent ourselves. The basic things were not there. It is a difficult period, there is no doubt about that,” she said.
“If you’re not playing exceptionally well, you can still defend at a really high level, you should be able to do that, and we are, but right now we’re in the middle.
“It’s not like we have to reinvent a new kind of football, we’re always trying to improve, but right now we’d all be happy if we could play things similar to what we ‘used to’ play.
“That was the least compact performance I’ve seen from us in a long, long time. Napoli were really good, but we made it easy for them”.
‘The high line is not the problem’
The defensive line has always attracted attention, when it comes out to the right you see the offside flag being raised more times than you care to remember or one counter-pressure moment after another.
When it doesn’t, scrutiny comes from everywhere and is down to the pressure Liverpool can put on the ball, which was non-existent for more than two-thirds of the game at Napoli.
“We were never compact. I don’t remember a situation where we were compact. We didn’t have a back pressure situation in 60 minutes,” Klopp explained.
“Just because we were too far away from everything. That means too wide in possession, we don’t push up with the back line, the midfield is not connected.
“The high line is only a risk if we don’t have pressure on the ball. If we have a high line and we don’t have any pressure, yes, then it’s a risk, but generally that’s not the case.
“The problem is not the high line. We need the high line to be compact. The problem was that we never got close enough to put pressure on the opponent.”
There are injuries, yes, but it makes some of the personnel choices seem strange, right?
Tuchel inspired this line of questioning
In light of Tuchel’s sacking this week, the manager was asked if he was concerned that a similar fate befall him after the start of Liverpool’s campaign, the answer was quite clear.
“There are different types of owners, our owners are quite calm and wait for me to solve the situation, without thinking that someone else will.
“This is how they always order it and the day they change their mind they will tell me.”
Don’t think they will change their minds any time soon.
