Liverpool FC trembles: Klopp stays cool, but not Salah

Liverpool FC trembles
Klopp stays cool, but not Salah

Lost and still in the quarter-finals of the Champions League: while team manager Jürgen Klopp takes the home defeat against Inter Milan lightly, Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah reacts angrily to the result and criticizes sharply.

Jürgen Klopp was relaxed, but his star striker Mohamed Salah reacted irritably. “Maybe we were overconfident in the back of our minds. At least it was a good game to learn from,” said the Egyptian after Liverpool FC’s 0-1 (0-0) home defeat to Inter Milan, but after the 2: 0 first-leg win was enough to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Salah reacted emotionally to the current result at Anfield Road and wanted the result to be taken as a wake-up call. Seeing the first and second leg as a unit was Klopp’s approach. And the 54-year-old named his assistant coach Peter Krawietz as a key witness: “He said: ‘The art of football is to lose the right games'”.

That’s exactly what the Reds did despite their clear superiority, with a bit of luck at the right moment: Just 120 seconds after Lautaro Martinez’s goal (61st), Alexis Sanchez was sent off with yellow-red. The Reds also had an aluminum allergy because Salah (52nd/73rd) hit the post twice. Klopp said: “There was a bit of slapstick involved, the way we missed the chances.” Outnumbered, the guests tried in vain for a second goal, with which they would have at least forced an extension.

Nevertheless, two proud Liverpool series ended at the same time. The 0:1 was the first defeat after twelve wins in a row in competitive games and the former English record champion also missed the eighth win in the eighth game of the premier class. Only FC Barcelona (2002/2003) and Bayern Munich (2019/2020) have managed this feat. That’s why Klopp didn’t want to go completely back to business as usual. “We don’t go on the pitch to lose. I still hate defeats. But we’re qualified for the next round, that’s all that matters,” said the German coach.

His Italian coaching colleague Simone Inzaghi also had to concede that, whose conclusion was bitter: “An away win at Anfield is nice, but unfortunately it was useless for progressing.” Also because Klopp drove “on autopilot to the next lap”, as “La Repubblica” wrote.

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