After three wins in a row, Liverpool came crashing back down to earth on Sunday with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, and although losing at home is always a negative, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp believes that the defeat may be a blessing in disguise.
During his post-match press conference on Sunday, Klopp admitted that the defeat 'feels very bad', and made the following surprising statement:
"If we learn the right things, then it’s very important that we lost tonight. It’s good that we lost".
Klopp also continued to show why he is totally different to Brendan Rodgers when it comes to how he
"If anyone thinks we gave everything we had tonight, then it’s wrong. We could do more. Maybe not running, but we needed to be more awake and to believe more".
I'm absolutely loving Klopp's realistic, down-to-earth approach to the media, which is something I repeatedly called for during Rodgers' reign.
There's no Rodgers-esque sycophancy or disingenuous fawning over the players; Klopp simply tells it like it is, and he does so in an honest, straightforward manner.
A team cannot achieve the highest standards if the players are constantly being mollycoddled, and Rodgers' obsequious brown-nosing dulled competitive edge/hunger, and created subconscious complacency, both of which conspired (IMO) to derail the club.
As for Klopp's contention that it's 'important' that Liverpool lost - I totally agree. As is always the case when Liverpool go on a good run, the players start praising each other in the media, and the defeat to Palace will (hopefully) put an end to this recent tornado of execrable ego massage.
Klopp claims that the defeat can help Liverpool to 'learn the right things', and if that's the case, then hopefully he's learned the following:
* Lallana is a waste of space. The guy is 27 years old, and he is still failing to make a consistent impact on the team. Two assists in almost 45 hours of football is not good enough, and his final pass is consistently terrible. Lallana and his overpaid cronies failed to step up last season, and the club suffered; history is repeating itself this year, so it's time for him to be relegated to the bench. In my view, Firmino and/or Teixeira should always start ahead of Lallana from this point onwards.
* Can is not good enough to be a regular midfield starter for Liverpool. Against Palace, he regularly gave the ball away, provided little penetration from the middle, and gifted the opposition a goal. This is nothing new, though; I've been highlighting the German's deficiencies all season. The problem with Can is that he thinks he's better than he actually is. He's always trying step-overs, back-heels (in stupid places), and long, sweeping crossfield passes, but most of the time, he gets it wrong. Can needs to keep it simple, but unfortunately, he's a legend in his own mind. I'd even play Allen ahead of Can at this stage.
* It's a mistake to rely on Simon Mignolet. The Belgian always has little periods of decent form during the season, but as the Palace game showed again, he cannot be relied upon over a consistent period of time. Rodgers should've ditched Mignolet at the end of the 2013-14 season, but he failed to act, and his mistakes contributed to the Reds' failure to qualify for the Champions League. If Klopp makes the mistake of relying Mignolet, then it'll be his funeral.
Mignolet, Lallana, and Can OUT; Bogdan, Firmino, and Teixeira IN.
Author: Jaimie K
During his post-match press conference on Sunday, Klopp admitted that the defeat 'feels very bad', and made the following surprising statement:
"If we learn the right things, then it’s very important that we lost tonight. It’s good that we lost".
Klopp also continued to show why he is totally different to Brendan Rodgers when it comes to how he
"If anyone thinks we gave everything we had tonight, then it’s wrong. We could do more. Maybe not running, but we needed to be more awake and to believe more".
I'm absolutely loving Klopp's realistic, down-to-earth approach to the media, which is something I repeatedly called for during Rodgers' reign.
There's no Rodgers-esque sycophancy or disingenuous fawning over the players; Klopp simply tells it like it is, and he does so in an honest, straightforward manner.
A team cannot achieve the highest standards if the players are constantly being mollycoddled, and Rodgers' obsequious brown-nosing dulled competitive edge/hunger, and created subconscious complacency, both of which conspired (IMO) to derail the club.
As for Klopp's contention that it's 'important' that Liverpool lost - I totally agree. As is always the case when Liverpool go on a good run, the players start praising each other in the media, and the defeat to Palace will (hopefully) put an end to this recent tornado of execrable ego massage.
Klopp claims that the defeat can help Liverpool to 'learn the right things', and if that's the case, then hopefully he's learned the following:
* Lallana is a waste of space. The guy is 27 years old, and he is still failing to make a consistent impact on the team. Two assists in almost 45 hours of football is not good enough, and his final pass is consistently terrible. Lallana and his overpaid cronies failed to step up last season, and the club suffered; history is repeating itself this year, so it's time for him to be relegated to the bench. In my view, Firmino and/or Teixeira should always start ahead of Lallana from this point onwards.
* Can is not good enough to be a regular midfield starter for Liverpool. Against Palace, he regularly gave the ball away, provided little penetration from the middle, and gifted the opposition a goal. This is nothing new, though; I've been highlighting the German's deficiencies all season. The problem with Can is that he thinks he's better than he actually is. He's always trying step-overs, back-heels (in stupid places), and long, sweeping crossfield passes, but most of the time, he gets it wrong. Can needs to keep it simple, but unfortunately, he's a legend in his own mind. I'd even play Allen ahead of Can at this stage.
* It's a mistake to rely on Simon Mignolet. The Belgian always has little periods of decent form during the season, but as the Palace game showed again, he cannot be relied upon over a consistent period of time. Rodgers should've ditched Mignolet at the end of the 2013-14 season, but he failed to act, and his mistakes contributed to the Reds' failure to qualify for the Champions League. If Klopp makes the mistake of relying Mignolet, then it'll be his funeral.
Mignolet, Lallana, and Can OUT; Bogdan, Firmino, and Teixeira IN.
Author: Jaimie K
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