Klopp given bizarre reason for Liverpool loss at Bournemouth as savage prediction is made over league finish
Liverpool have been sent a grim warning over their final Premier League position this season after a somewhat unusual theory was given for their woeful 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
The Reds have endured a topsy-turvy season with the highs of beating Man Utd 7-0 to the lows of being spanked by Real Madrid. That 5-2 defeat last month at Anfield means Liverpool will end the season without a trophy unless they can somehow win by a three-goal margin at the Bernabeu.
Taken in isolation, a defeat to bogey side Real Madrid can perhaps be forgiven. However, sloppy performances in the Premier League – which leaves Liverpool facing up to missing out on the top four – certainly aren’t.
And a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth on Saturday was arguably the worst yet of a tough season. Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to get going, losing the midfield battle and making mistakes aplenty in defence.
When presented with a chance to snatch something, Mohamed Salah somehow blasted a penalty kick wide.
And while the result confirms that Liverpool really do need a summer squad rebuild, they really need to worry about the here and now.
They currently sit six points behind Tottenham in fourth, having played a game less.
However, Steve McManaman insists they look a million miles away from being a top-four side.
Tearing into the side, he delivered his savage verdict to BT Sport.
“I thought they were terrible today. Contrasting fortunes for both teams – everything Liverpool did well last week when they won at Anfield was completely the opposite today,” he said.
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“They were lethargic, they were slow, they moved the ball sideways so many times. There was no urgency to go forwards. Defensively, five clean sheets, they looked as if they couldn’t play again today.
“Stepping forwards when they don’t need to, always taking chances trying to play offside. They’ve arguably got the quickest back four around. They just never looked as if they were going to win.
“I mentioned at half-time it was like the Nottingham Forest game, and it was – Forest were bottom of the league, showed more fight, Liverpool made chances, petered out, never looked as if they were going to win the game and it was exactly the same today.
“Made all kinds of substitutions, it didn’t matter. Diogo Jota made the goalie make one save, that was it. Liverpool had five super centre forwards on today and they didn’t do anything.”
McManaman insists Liverpool can forget reaching the top four this season off the back of that performance.
“It’s an incredibly disappointing result. It’s just frustrating, isn’t it? You come five hours down the M6 to witness that, then we all have to go back up north again after getting excited about getting into the Champions League spots,” he added.
“They’re miles away from it judging from that performance, and it’s not the first time, this is two, three, four times this season, and that’s the worrying part of it. You can only ask the players.”
McManaman presents theory for Bournemouth defeat
McManaman reckons Liverpool seem to save their worst performances for games that kick-off at 12.30pm. And he reckons that could be a factor in comparing performances at Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.
Both games ended in dismal 1-0 defeats and McManaman presented his case.
“I don’t know whether it’s a timing issue. I honestly don’t know because the Nottingham Forest game was a half 12 kick-off and they struggled. They didn’t look as if they were fighting enough for it.
“The first 10 minutes they were okay, made a couple of chances, but the next 85 including injury time, they could have been playing now and they still wouldn’t have scored a goal.
“I don’t know why you can get yourself up for a big game [Manchester United] then come down here for a game like this and just be as flat as they were today.”
