Football: Jurgen Klopp slams 'worst-ever' Liverpool performance after Brighton shock
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the loss to Brighton was the worst performance of his time in charge of the Reds.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp blasted his side’s effort in a humiliating 3-0 Premier League defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion
The German could not believe what he was seeing as Brighton ran his team ragged in a manner he had never experienced since taking charge in 2015.
Winger Solly March scored twice and created a third for Brighton – scored by Danny Welbeck – as they dominated the game at the Amex from start to finish.
The Reds had just two shots on target to the Seagulls’ nine.
“Bad. Really bad. I can’t remember a worse game. It was a very organised team against a not very organised team,” Klopp said.
“Massively frustrated, congratulations to Brighton on a super game against a bad opponent. We were not good today, I can’t remember a good phase or period.
“We gave the ball away, the spaces were too big and we couldn’t push up. That is obviously not good, especially against a super well-drilled side like Brighton. They got more confident and we did the opposite.
“This is a really low point. I can’t remember a worse game.”
Klopp said he had tried to switch Liverpool’s tactics in a bid to halt their poor run, but conceded the players did not handle the changes well.
“I had an idea to change the formation which was to try to help the team. That was the idea. But we never did it properly,” he said.
“We need to be creative with the options we have. What I saw today from my team was that they were not really convinced by it, that’s it.”
Liverpool’s wretched performance followed a 3-1 loss at Brentford and an FA Cup draw with Wolves in which they were saved from defeat by a controversial VAR decision.
Despite the loss to Brentford in their last Premier League game on Jan 2, Klopp said that he had been confident before Saturday’s game that they could win, but it did not turn out the way he had expected.
“There’s nothing that I thought yesterday or this morning that this could happen,” he said.
The Reds are languishing in ninth place on 28 points in the Premier League, with their hopes of a top-four finish fading. They are now 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
Brighton are seventh on 30 points.
Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma (right) in action against Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool FC on Jan 14, 2023.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Last season, Liverpool came within two wins of an unprecedented quadruple as they lifted the FA and League Cups – only to see the Premier League title go to Manchester City and then lose the Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Klopp’s current group are a shadow of the team who nearly made history and he admitted he is at a loss to explain the difference.
“How can you explain that? The same players played outstanding football matches but if things aren’t properly organised then it can look like that,” he said.
“We were always a bit late and things like this.
“If you don’t win key challenges and lose the ball too easily, they are the two worst things that can happen in football.
“There is no formation that can solve that.”
Liverpool’s campaign has been derailed by poor performances and injuries to key players.
Captain Virgil van Dijk was missing due to a hamstring strain and recent signing Cody Gakpo starting up front due to the absence of Darwin Nunez.
As a result, the Reds struggled to maintain possession and Brighton were able to make the most of their chances.
Asked how concerned he is by Liverpool’s plight, Klopp added: “Yeah, how can you not be after a game like this? REUTERS, AFP
