JURGEN KLOPP blew his top as Liverpool lost the plot by shipping SEVEN at Aston Villa… but insisted his side were not ‘sloppy’.
The defending Premier League champions were torn apart at Villa Park – inspired by Ollie Watkins’ hat-trick.
Jurgen Klopp saw his side get pumped 7-2 but insisted they weren’t ‘sloppy’Credit: Reuters
Roy Keane had questioned Liverpool’s defending previouslyCredit: Sky Sports
It came on the back of last Monday’s on-air row with Roy Keane after the Manchester United legend questioned the Reds’ defending in the 3-1 win over Arsenal.
Klopp said: “It looked like we lost the plot after it went to 1-0. It is not an excuse. Normally you can be 1-0 down and do the stuff you want to do. We created but did not protect ourselves properly so each ball we lost was a massive counter attack.
“Our protection was under average and we could never get the feeling back, the body language dropped.
“We made too many mistakes and massive ones obviously. It started with the first goal and around the goals we made massive mistakes.
“We put all our rubbish mistakes in one game. It was not sloppy tonight like Mr Keane said, it was just bad.
“I would love to have a training session tomorrow and work on it but we can’t because of internationals. We have to use the two days we have before the derby to work on it. We can defend much better. There is nobody to blame apart from me and us.”
Liverpool were without Alisson due to a shoulder injury and Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara after they tested positive for Covid-19.
Van Dijk vowed the players will hold an inquest to sort it out in time to face Merseyside rivals and league leaders Everton next up.
Van Dijk fumed: “We have to be very hard on each other, and we will be. It’s hard to lose the way we lost. We weren’t at it from the start and we shouldn’t lose by that number.
“You can’t take credit away from Villa but we should have been more clinical in all aspects. We can’t go crazy, but we have to be stepping it up.”
It was the first time the Reds have shipped seven in the league since 1963 – and Klopp’s biggest Prem defeat.
Kop legend Jamie Carragher fumed: “They were fortunate it wasn’t eight or nine. This has got to be one of the worst defensive performances I’ve ever seen. I was almost laughing at the end. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“It was a shocking result and performance, and certainly the worst under Jurgen Klopp. They were fortunate it wasn’t eight or nine.”
Villa boss Dean Smith beamed: “That has to rank at the top. To do that takes something special, and that was special. I am extremely proud. They executed the game plan to perfection.”
Jurgen Klopp calls out Man Utd icon Roy Keane live on Sky Sports over criticism of ‘sloppy’ Liverpool after Arsenal win
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
