Klopp’s continued strange judgments end up angering Liverpool fans
Jürgen Klopp’s recent behavior has been strange.
“Liverpool fans have taken to social media to express their anger after the Reds were eliminated from the Europa League,” British media outlet Sports Bible reported on Jan. 19 (KST).
The Reds won the second leg of their UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarterfinal tie against Atalanta 1-0 at the Gervis Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, on Sept. 19, but fell short of advancing to the last four by a 3-1 aggregate score.
Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool had a chance to take the lead after just seven minutes. Arnold’s cross hit the arm of a defender and a PK was awarded, with Salah calmly converting the PK to seemingly pull off an unlikely upset.
However, the two-goal lead proved to be too much, and Liverpool were unable to find an additional goal, handing Atalanta a heartbreaking quarterfinal spot. Klopp made several substitutions after halftime in an attempt to change the course of the game.
However, it was his decision to keep one player on the pitch that disappointed Liverpool fans. While players like Salah, Luis Diaz, and Alexander-Arnold were substituted, midfielder Curtis Jones was kept on the field despite his disastrous performance.
Jones’ constant turnovers and tempo-killing tendencies killed Liverpool’s attacking flow in this game. His on-the-ball skills weren’t great either, which is why he was labeled as a first-choice substitute, but he ended up playing the full game.
The decision left Liverpool fans confused, and they were quick to voice their opinions on social media after the game. “It’s a crime that Curtis Jones played full time in this game,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “How was Curtis Jones allowed to stay on the pitch?”, “Klopp still playing Curtis Jones, hilarious”, and so on.
Meanwhile, Salah’s recent form has also been off the charts. He’s been missing a lot of easy chances lately and has been criticized by fans for his poor dribbling. However, Klopp, with his trademark faith in the player, believed in him.
“I’m not particularly worried. That’s what strikers do, that’s what happens to strikers, that’s what happens. We have to go through this, he has to go through that. He is one 토토 of the most experienced players in our team. We’ll look at it, but that’s pretty much it. I’m not going to make a big deal about it. What you make of it obviously doesn’t affect it. I’m not particularly worried about it,” he said.
The defeat to Atalanta was Liverpool’s final game in European competition under Klopp, who will leave the club in the summer after nine years in charge. Klopp will now focus solely on the Premier League title race, his last chance to add to his trophy cabinet at Anfield.
However, fans are worried that Klopp’s enthusiasm has waned and the players are showing a lack of desire.
