Klopp's worrying admission after Leicester defeat: If Liverpool play like that we won't catch Manchester City
By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 29, 2021, 12:18 PM ISTFollowing their 0-1 loss against Leicester City, which saw star striker Mohammed Salah miss an early penalty before Ademola Lookman net a winner for Foxes, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made a worrying admission.
After a close clash against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last week, Liverpool had a chance to redeem their pride in their Premier League clash against the Brendan Rogers side. However, the night added to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp's worries. Following their 0-1 loss against Leicester City, which saw star striker Mohammed Salah miss an early penalty before Ademola Lookman net a winner for Foxes, Klopp made a worrying admission.
"It was not our plan to give Leicester City the chance to run away. If we play like tonight, we do not think about catching up with Manchester City," the Liverpool coach admitted. Klopp's side slipped to just their second loss of this Premier League season at the King Power Stadium to leave them trailing behind Manchester City, who beat Leicester City 6-3 on Boxing Day to make it nine league wins in a row. Liverpool is now six points behind Manchester City in the table and has a mammoth task to keep pace with Pep Guardiola's side, quickly becoming the likely champions.
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Klopp, however, has not given up yet. Expressing that the team stand a chance to win more games if they play 'Liverpool football', the manager added, "A defeat is a defeat. We have to learn, and we will. The first thing is not to do it ever again like this. We lost our rhythm and weren't calm enough to get it back. That's our fault."
Liverpool had their chances in Tuesday's clash, but 15 minutes into the game and Salah's 2nd-ever Premier League penalty miss that included a rebound against the crossbar cost the side dearly. The hosts continued to frustrate the 2019-20 champions throughout the night as Sadio Mane wasted two crucial opportunities to get Liverpool off the mark.
"We needed some effort not to score. We had a few chances. I did like the intensity even in the beginning, but sometimes we have started like this, and we lost rhythm that we have never found back. I didn't like it a lot in our game. We have to do better. We just weren't ourselves," Klopp added.
Leicester, who have struggled to replicate their form from the last two seasons, scored the winner just before the hour mark as Lookman rifled an effort past Alisson in style. Liverpool chased an equaliser late on and monopolised possession as they searched for a way through. But the Foxes defended aggressively each time the Reds got a sight at goal and hung on to claim valuable three points.
Leicester City boss Brendan Rogers expressed pleasure over the players show, adding, "Given the context of the game on the back of Sunday, the players put in a heroic performance given the recovery time and having played Manchester City."
"The players were amazing how they coped. We had to defend for our lives. I am really pleased for the players tonight," Rogers added.
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