Jurgen Klopp faces new Liverpool dilemma as issues come to light in Champions League exit
Jurgen Klopp faces new Liverpool dilemma as issues come to light in Champions League exit
Liverpool have been knocked out of the Champions League.
Liverpool: Klopp admits past comebacks count for little
Jurgen Klopp’s problems have just got worse after Liverpool’s Champions League exit, showing the weaknesses in his squad. The German has been desperate to sign a defender in the transfer window but perhaps the German should move for a different kind of player.
Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League has handed Klopp a new problem going into the transfer window.
Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory over the Reds in the first leg at the Bernabeu was enough to see off the Merseyside outfit.
The Premier League champions were the better side on Wednesday night but never truly tested Zinedine Zidane’s men.
And they never looked like overturning the two-goal deficit needed that would have seen them make it to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are out of the Champions League (Image: GETTY)
Instead, it will be Los Blancos taking on Chelsea for a chance at the main prize in Istanbul this summer.
For Klopp, question marks will surely have arisen over his midfield – which was trounced by Real Madrid’s.
Zidane arguably has the best trio in the centre of the park in the world – boasting World Cup medallist Toni Kroos, Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric and Casemiro – who was man of the match.
They made light work of Liverpool’s midfielders, which would have switched a light on at Anfield.
Liverpool have been desperate to sign a centre-back in the transfer window, with RB Leipzig star Ibrahima Konate the likely target.
But a new midfielder should also be aimed for with the current crop falling short of expectations.
There are several problems, starting with the fact that a new contract has not been sorted for Georginio Wijnaldum – who looks set to leave at the end of the season for nothing.
Thiago Alcantara, brought in with huge expectations, has ultimately failed to prove himself while Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have flashes of quality but are too injury-prone.
Liverpool star Georginio Wijnaldum is out of contract at the end of the season (Image: GETTY)
Maybe most alarming is the same fate starting to creep into Jordan Henderson’s game, who has been absent for weeks with medical problems.
It was telling that it was James Milner who started the match, and while he is a fine servant, at 35 he is not getting any younger.
If Liverpool want to return to the top under Klopp, the German must start thinking about improving his midfield.
