Jürgen Klopp has so many open fronts that he doesn't know where to look. To the bad start of Liverpool in the Premier League, which has not been able to get past the draw in its first two games against the newly promoted Fulham and the modest Crystal Palace, the plague of injuries in midfield or the expulsion of Darwin Núñez is added . As if what is happening on the pitch were not enough, the German coach has decided to open a new confrontation against Barça and against Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA. In an interview published in Kicker he openly criticized the director of the highest governing body of European football for the density of the calendar and the mistreatment of players. He also claimed not to understand the current situation of the Barça club.
Against Crystal Palace, in the premiere of the red team at Anfield, Liverpool went from more to less, deflating at the end and could even be defeated if Wilfried Zaha and company had been a little more precise in their frequent counterattacks. The start was positive, in part thanks to Palace completely relinquishing control of the ball and betting everything on the old tactic of tucking in behind, resisting and deploying with speed. However, what seemed like a simple match in which the goals would end up falling under their own weight ended up going awry.
Liverpool's defense, led by Virgil Van Dijk, is characterized by its height and the risks it takes. With a Dutch security center there are usually no problems, but any mismatch is synonymous with clear danger. Zaha took advantage of it and with a simple uncheck and a precise definition at the long post put Palace ahead after half an hour of play. Liverpool then played harassment and demolition, a task that was not easy without a midfielder with the fluidity of Thiago Alcántara. Only the skilled Luis Díaz was able to cross the wall with a great individual play. Darwin Núñez ended up being sent off after headbutting an opponent and another disappointing performance.
Klopp spoke on Kicker about his team, the departure of Sadio Mané or the start of Núñez, but he also had time to analyze the current situation at Barça or address Ceferin and criticize his management. "I don't understand it for several reasons. One of them is that I'm not a financial professional. The second is that if you tell me I don't have money, then I don't spend anything. I'm looking at this as a football fan, and I don't think so. I understand", he said about the situation of the Barça team and its huge outlay on transfers in the midst of economic uncertainty. "The only club I know that once sold the stadium and other rights in advance was Borussia Dortmund. Aki Watzke (Dortmund's CEO) had to come at the last second and save everything. And I don't know if there is a Watzke in Barcelona. ", added, skeptical with the future of the Barça.
"When talking about the lack of breaks for the players, Aleksander Ceferin comes out of a corner and makes a controversial statement so that other people have to work much harder," the German coach said, referring to the growing saturation of the football calendar. "I don't want to offend anyone, just to stress that this game doesn't work without the players and it's really nice when the best can be on the field," he added. Liverpool have problems with injuries and Klopp is clear about why.
"New tournaments are always being invented. Now we are expanding the World Cup so that other teams can also participate. If I'm the only one who says something, so be it. I don't care. I can't be everyone's friend," said the former coach of the Borussia Dortmund. Regarding Mané's departure, he said that "he would have kept it with great pleasure, but this is a free world and decisions must be made this way: freely and with time."
Referring to Darwin Núñez, he assured that "no conclusions can be drawn after just one game". This was before the match against Palace, another discreet performance by the Uruguayan, tainted by his expulsion. "He is very energetic. Physically he is very strong, and technically he is very good. That improves, obviously, with the adaptation and with the confidence that you gain. You cannot ask a player to give one hundred percent immediately, you have to adapt and evolve," he said. "It's crazy how quickly we judge people. Imagine if someone came up to us and said, 'First day on the job, it didn't work out. Go home, we don't want to see you again!'" Liverpool have to be cautious after a tumultuous start to the season. His next challenge, on Monday at Old Trafford.
