Jurgen Klopp unhappy with Anfield atmosphere ahead of Arsenal’s visit

LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was unhappy with the home support during their 5-1 League Cup win over West Ham United and urged fans to give their tickets away if they are not in the “right shape” for the visit of Arsenal at the weekend.

Liverpool had missed the chance to go top of the league on Dec 17 after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United, but they blew away West Ham on Dec 20 to book their place in the semi-finals.

Despite Liverpool’s dominance, Klopp thought the atmosphere was lacking at Anfield.

“It’s long ago that I said this – but I thought the first half a little bit, when the boys played really exceptional, I was not overly happy... with the atmosphere behind me,” said Klopp.

“We changed a lot of things. We dominated West Ham like crazy. We missed chances. And I mean, if I would be in the stands I would be on my toes, 1,000 per cent.”

Liverpool partly opened their newly revamped Anfield Road Stand for the first time on Dec 17, bumping up the attendance to 57,000 – the largest for 50 years at their stadium.

Former United captain Gary Neville said then: “The atmosphere was the worst I’ve ever seen at Anfield for a Liverpool-Manchester United match.

“I’ve always been complimentary of Liverpool fans. It’s the biggest crowd they’ve had here in 60, 70 years. But it’s the quietest crowd I’ve seen in this game.

“I don’t know what was up today. There was maybe a bit of over-confidence before the game.”

With leaders Arsenal set to visit on Dec 23, Klopp said getting the right atmosphere was crucial.

“We need Anfield on their toes from the first second without me having an argument with the opposition coach. We need you from the first second,” he added.

“If it’s too much football in December, I don’t know. Sorry we have to play it as well. But if you are not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else.”

His team, however, did not look in the mood to give anything away against West Ham as they set up a semi-final date against Fulham.

Curtis Jones scored twice and Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah were also on the score sheet for the Reds.

No team have won more League Cups than Liverpool, who lifted the trophy for the ninth time in the 2021-22 season.

The Reds had 34 shots against the Red Devils without finding the net, failing to win at home for the first time this season, to their intense frustration.

Klopp said he was delighted with his team’s “joyful football” as they once again clicked in front of goal against West Ham.

Liverpool had 11 shots in the first 45 minutes to West Ham’s zero.

“We were brave in our positioning, our second-ball game was exceptional,” he said.

“It was a really, really good performance from start to finish. It is really tough for all of us, there are a lot of games and the boys played a lot of football already.”

Szoboszlai netted in the 28th minute with a thunderous strike from 20 metres that sailed into the far corner.

Jones doubled Liverpool’s lead with his first goal minutes into the second half after a give-and-go with Darwin Nunez, sprinting onto Nunez’s pass to slot the ball between goalkeeper Alphonse Areola’s legs.

Gakpo scored from the top of the 18-yard box before Jarrod Bowen pulled one back for the Hammers in the 77th minute.

Salah put the game away in the 82nd minute and Jones completed his brace two minutes later, slashing through West Ham’s defence with such ease it had manager David Moyes seething with anger.

Moyes, meanwhile, slammed criticism of his squad selection, saying: “We have had the quickest turnaround of any team in the Premier League. The only teams who have played more in the last few years are Liverpool and Manchester City. 

‘I don’t rotate very often. Tonight was about how good Liverpool were. If you’re going to talk about rotation, talk about the amount of games we’ve played.”

Middlesbrough will take on Chelsea in the other League Cup semi-final. REUTERS, AFP