Bitter mistake in the title race
Angry Klopp is “not stupid”
By Till Erdenberger
April 15, 2024, 10:56 a.m
Liverpool FC made a serious mistake against Crystal Palace, perhaps with serious consequences. Coach Jürgen Klopp is upset with his team’s performance. The game could still have been won – because the Reds also took an absurd advantage of their chances.
Jürgen Klopp has had an exhausting and not very pleasant Sunday afternoon: his Liverpool FC lost at home at Anfield to Crystal Palace, who are fighting against relegation. And in the terribly tight title race in the Premier League, where three top clubs – Klopp’s Reds, Arsenal FC and defending champions Manchester City – have each other in a headlock, any mistake can mean the final blow in the neck.
“It doesn’t feel good because we lost the game and we had planned this day completely differently,” said Klopp in the press conference about a game that Liverpool FC didn’t actually have – at least with a view to the second half can lose.
The outsider won 1-0 and left a visibly shocked Liverpool FC behind. The exhausted players stood stunned on the pitch, some leaning on their own knees. Jürgen Klopp had previously suffered badly from and with his team. “There wasn’t a fully convinced team on the pitch. The goal we conceded was terrible,” complained the coach, who was leaving at the end of the season: “We weren’t good. Crystal Palace had far too many footballing moments in which we went in the wrong direction.” The pressing that Klopp’s teams are so notorious for was “nothing” in the first half. “I’ll put it this way: If you’re pressing at 80 percent, it’s better not to, because it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Lost more than just a game”
The disastrous 3-0 defeat against Atalanta Bergamo in the Europa League during the week apparently had an impact: “All of us – including the players, including me – expected a reaction, and we saw that we lost more than just that in this game That game didn’t help, you could just see that, plus the game before that at United where we lost points.” They had previously lost the top of the Premier League table against their arch-rivals due to a 2-2 draw.
At least the reaction we were hoping for came after the weak first half: “The second half is of course a really good home game, it’s a really good game. I’m not sure if they really had chances, but we had a lot of them Big ones, the four where everyone thought, ‘That should be a goal’, and others where we were almost there,” Klopp said.
Because his boys missed one top-class chance after another against Crystal Palace – either they failed from close range to Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson or even shot at the last defender standing on the goal line – they were able to overcome the early deficit with Eberechi Eze’s goal could no longer counter in the 14th minute. “We didn’t give up or anything, or think, ‘It’s another day off’. Not at all, the boys really tried, but in the end it wasn’t enough, we have to admit that too.”
“I’m not stupid”
Liverpool FC have dropped five points in their last two Premier League games and their hard-fought lead in the table is gone again. Manchester City (73 points) passed. Because of the poorer goal difference, they also have to hope that Arsenal FC, who are tied on 71 points, will slip up in Anfield in order to be able to celebrate their second championship title under the German at the end of the great Klopp era.
“It’s simple, I understand that 100 percent, of course you have to ask yourself these questions – what does that mean for the title race and things like that,” said Klopp, referring to the last six games. “I’m not stupid, I know that. The answer is pretty simple: If we play like we did in the first half, why should we win the league? If we play like we did in the second half, we can win football games.” We’ll see “how many we can win. We have to be there when the other guys weaken.” A few hours after Klopp’s words, the previous league leaders Arsenal weakened – and lost their home game against Aston Villa 0-2. Liverpool FC wasn’t there.