TalkSPORT host Adrian Durham has launched a scathing attack on Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for his tactics against Barcelona on Wednesday...
TalkSPORT host Adrian Durham has launched a scathing attack on Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for his tactics against Barcelona on Wednesday night.
With attacker Roberto Firmino only fit enough for a spot on the substitutes bench, Klopp opted for a four-man midfield, while going for the more defensively-adept Joe Gomez over Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back. It backfired in a 3-0 defeat.
Durham wasn’t impressed: “I am puzzled as to why Jurgen Klopp thought he had to make so many changes,” he said on talkSPORT [02/05]; 16:12]. “He’s gone on about how they’re heavy metal. Well, it wasn’t heavy metal it was a bit of light jazz, I thought.
“He kind of tinkered with it, [Claudio] Ranieri-style and it led to errors. He’s overthought it and he’s left [Jordan] Henderson out of that [midfield] four, which I can’t quite get my head round. He went with two up front when everyone knows what makes Liverpool brilliant is that front three.
“He inexplicably dropped Trent Alexander-Arnold and brought in a player who hasn’t started since December 5 – that’s a massive error. Klopp’s selection and his tactics robbed Liverpool of their identity.”
OPINION
It’s not often that Durham speaks sense but, on this occasion, he has got a bit of a point. Hindsight is obviously a wonderful thing and this is all easy to say after a 3-0 defeat, but there’s no doubt that Klopp got things wrong on Wednesday. To be fair to him, he was hamstrung by Firmino’s fitness issues. It’s clear that he didn’t feel that the Brazilian was fit enough to start the game, meaning that he couldn’t go with his usual front three. The decision for him was then whether to draft in Divock Origi or Daniel Sturridge or to opt for a four man midfield in an attempt to pack the middle of the park. Obviously he went for the latter, but that was probably a mistake. His decision to go for Gomez over Alexander-Arnold, though, was undoubtedly a huge error. Yes, Gomez is a better natural defender than his countryman, but Alexander-Arnold’s crossing and offensive ability was much-needed at the Nou Camp. So, as Durham says, Klopp did get it wrong on Wednesday.
COMMENTS