Jürgen Klopp believes there should be layoffs in the UEFA hierarchy over the chaos caused by Paris’ choice to replace St. Petersburg as hosts of last season’s Champions League final.
The results of an independent investigation were released this week and highlighted shortcomings on behalf of UEFA that led to a “near miss” – the likelihood of serious injuries and fatalities – outside the Stade de France on 28 May.
Liverpool fans have been cleared of the cause of the problem, which UEFA initially claimed was caused by the late arrival of fans and the distribution of counterfeit tickets.
Klopp, whose family was engulfed in the turmoil, said: “From the first moment I thought it wasn’t a good idea to be in Paris. Some of the people who work there (at UEFA) should have done better. “On a day like this, when so many people arrive, you cannot work with volunteers. You need experienced people.
Klopp, whose side can revive their top-four hopes with victory at Newcastle tonight, added: “I don’t know who made the decision. I’m some people’s boss, and I’m not at 100% on topic on many things.
“So I get information from people and then I make a decision. The better the information, the better the decisions.
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LIVERPOOL REDISCOVER THE POWER OF THE COUNTER-ATTACK
A data-driven study of one of the key areas Premier League champions have developed over the past five years
Liverpool are Premier League champions for the first time and English champions for the first time since 1990.
Coach Jürgen Klopp has deservedly earned admiring glances for his side’s thrilling attacking style of play in the five years leading up to their winning campaign.
During this season, Liverpool have become more controlled in possession. Still attacking (85 league goals), but with the handbrake slightly on.
Working for Sky Sports just weeks before being named manager of Tottenham Hotspur last October, Jose Mourinho argued that Liverpool still prefer to play against teams that allow them to break the rhythm. Indeed, the combination of Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane smoothly transitioning from defense to attack is often cited as one of the team’s most important tactical innovations.
But when I watched Liverpool last season, it was clear that teams are now giving them much less space in the back to take advantage of in transition.
Additionally, their season average possession percentage was 59.6%. At first glance, they appear to have completely transitioned into a team that seems to dominate from the start, rather than sitting deep and rocking the opponent forward.
Official Premier League stats show Liverpool have scored 11 goals on the break during their league title campaign. A classic example would be the supreme goal in Leicester City’s stunning 4-0 victory on Boxing Day.
After collecting the ball near the halfway line, Georginio Wijnaldum sent a pass to Sadio Mane, who advanced to the Foxes back line, with Trent Alexander-Arnold charging outside of him to create an overload.
passed the ball to him and the right-back did the rest, slotting the ball (for the first time) into the far post.
The Reds’ opponents are the only opponents in the league that day to score more than eight goals directly from breaks.
But is this part of a larger trend? Have the Reds become even more efficient during the break than previously thought and have they reached new heights?
A starting point is to compare last season to Klopp’s first full season.