‘I wouldn’t be manager if I had a couple’ – Klopp aware Liverpool’s campaign must be a one-off
‘I wouldn’t be manager if I had a couple’ – Klopp aware Liverpool’s campaign must be a one-off
Jurgen Klopp admitted he would not last at Liverpool if he oversaw multiple seasons as poor as their current campaign after the Reds played out a goalless draw with managerless Chelsea.
A much-changed Liverpool side were fortunate to escape with a point from their trip to Stamford Bridge, with a VAR review denying Kai Havertz a winning goal when the ball deflected in off his arm.
Klopp made six changes to his starting line-up for the game, with the Reds producing a disjointed display after benching the likes of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Having gone four games without a win across all competitions, Liverpool sit seven points adrift of the Premier League’s top four with 10 games remaining this term.
Asked whether he had ever endured another season as frustrating as this one, Klopp told BBC Sport: “No, thank God.
“I wouldn’t be manager of Liverpool if I had a couple of these seasons. We have to get through it. That’s how life is. You have to fight to change your fortunes.
“We cannot talk about the goals we have if we don’t get points. We don’t give up, we will fight. We can talk a lot, but we have to show it.”
Liverpool have now seen each of their last four meetings with Chelsea across all competitions finish goalless, despite those games containing a total of 103 shots worth 11.9 expected goals.
However, following Saturday’s heavy 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, Klopp was at least pleased by the spirit shown by his out-of-form side in west London.
“Both teams played last year in two finals, two of the best 0-0s I ever saw,” Klopp added. “Today it was two teams low on confidence but really fighting.
“We’re fine with a point, there was a lot of good stuff. We showed a lot of fight. We have to keep going.
“We had our opportunities up front. It was not spectacular. It was a step. That’s what we have to do – make steps. Sometimes smaller steps.
“We need to have these chances. You need to keep having chances. I’m not disappointed about that. They scored twice, but both goals were disallowed.
“I didn’t expect a team with six changes to play the best game of the season. The boys who came in used their opportunity and showed they were ready.”