LIVERPOOL STUTTER

Liverpool’s performance versus Newcastle was surprising not only for the pundits, but, for the boss Jurgen Klopp himself. The Reds suffered their first loss on an away ground under Klopp.

They had been dominating as a travelling team of late beating the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City by big margins in their backyards, and with possession stats in the 60s according to Casino-X. One would have imagined that their counter pressing game would be too hot to handle for Newcastle as well, but, it wasn’t to be.

Speaking in his interview at the end of the game, Klopp said, “We were backing ourselves for a good performance here. It’s hard to point out the exact reasons at the moment. But, I do believe we couldn’t quite counter-press the way we would have liked.”

“We should have been tighter with our game. There was lack of solidity for sure. However, we know we are capable of playing much, much better. You should consider the fact that Newcastle played pretty well too. The due credit has to be given to them. They delivered in a pressure game” he said.

“I believe it’s better to get beaten playing poorly than to get beaten playing well. When you put on a decent performance and still get beaten, it’s not that easy to bounce back from that. We will sit and do further analysis of the game to find our answers. Hopefully, next game, we will be back”

In spite of the defeat, Liverpool did not slip down much in the points table. They are at no. 7 with 23 points, trailing by 9 points to the table leaders Leicester City.

The next opponent for Liverpool in the Premier League is West Bromwich Albion whom they are going to face on 20^th of December at Anfield.