Sports
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp has described his side’s form as “not perfect” but also said it is “not a catastrophe”.
The champions are without a win in four Premier League games and without a goal in three – their worst run since 2015.
But Klopp has called for “calm” after a sequence that has resulted in a drop from the top of the table to fourth.
“I understand the need to talk all the time about it but we cannot change it in a minute,” he said on Wednesday.
The Reds host Burnley on Thursday (20:00 GMT kick-off) and could go into that match as many as six points behind the league leaders.
Since thrashing Crystal Palace 7-0 on 19 December, Liverpool have drawn 1-1 at home with West Bromwich Albion and 0-0 away at Newcastle, been beaten 1-0 at Southampton and played out a stalemate with Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds have been weakened by injuries to key defenders this season – with first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez out with long-term knee injuries – but they have also lost their spark in attack, scoring one goal from a combined 62 shots over those past four league matches.
“Someone has to be calm in this situation – it is not a catastrophe. It is not perfect but I saw a lot of good signs again in the Manchester United game. Because we didn’t win, nobody was interested.
“We didn’t score. That’s it. That’s all. It’s just a job to do and that is what we are working on. We know we are not where we want to be.
“We just fight. People get unhappy with performances when results are not there.
“You can win the game with one lucky strike. We have to play our football to a high level. In the final third, we haven’t.”
Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip could be available for Thursday’s game against Burnley after he returned to full training, but Klopp said forward Diogo Jota is still “a few weeks away” from returning from a knee injury.
BBC Sport
– Jan. 21, 2021 @ 09:19 GMT |
Tags: Liverpool form 'not perfect' but 'not a catastrophe'
