Jurgen Klopp warns Liverpool stars after crunch talks replaced ‘real life’ training
Jurgen Klopp watched his Liverpool side tumble to a disastrous defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday, with the German issuing a strong warning alongside him ahead of his trip to Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp has warned his Liverpool side that he will announce changes to the trip to Chelsea after the horrific defeat at Manchester City.
The Reds were hammered by Premier League title challengers on Saturday, with Klopp’s side a shadow apart. It was the latest low in a disappointing campaign for Liverpool after trying to win the treble last year.
Their status as perennial trophy contenders is a far cry from their performances this season. They now face a huge battle for a place in the top four, with the loss to City dropping them to eighth in the Premier League table. The Reds only have a short break for their next game, with a trip to Chelsea on Tuesday. And Klopp promised he would swing the ax at a starting lineup that didn’t happen at the Etihad.
“Maybe it’s normal for a coach to leave, we haven’t had a real session between games. We can’t do intense things so we talk more,” the Reds manager said on Monday .
“We will, but I’m sure Chelsea will try to react. Bayern’s match against Dortmund was a reaction (without Nagelsmann). We can’t work on the pitch, but we have to show 100% willingness to react.
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“The short turnaround time means I have no idea who to draft. We’re giving the guys as much time as possible to recover, but there will definitely be changes.
“We can’t just keep playing like we do from time to time. I’m really disappointed that we’re doing this, but it’s happening. We have to find a way out.”
Rather than attending “real” training sessions, as Klopp describes them, the Liverpool squad instead held crisis talks on Sunday. The three-game losing streak turned their season into a disaster. But star defender Virgil van Dijk will hope Sunday’s encounter can help them out of the dive. The Dutch international believes the opening of crisis talks will allow the Reds to find solutions to their problems.
“If you lose like we lost, there will definitely be a difficult conversation. It’s really normal, we are adults and we will see. It was really a difficult afternoon. Very frustrated. It’s the feeling,” he said.
“We are going to meet but the turnaround is quite quick, with Chelsea on Tuesday, so tomorrow is a big day. We are trying it. Today was frustrating. I think the first half was fairly balanced.
“Obviously a fantastic goal from Mo and then they scored a good goal as well. The second half at 2-1 was a blow and a very frustrating second half.