Liverpool
manager Jurgen Klopp - drained and coming to terms with the manner in which
Sevilla dismantled his team in the Europa League final in Basel - uttered two
small sentences of huge significance in the game's inquest.
Klopp had watched powerless
as Liverpool collapsed like a house of cards from a lead and a position of
superiority to lose 3-1 to Sevilla, squandering the chance of Champions League
football next season in the process.
"This team will be a
bit different next season, it is clear," said Klopp. "We will do
something with transfers."
Klopp's personality, allied
to Liverpool's history and ambition, will always attract players - but life
will be infinitely more difficult in a fiercely competitive summer market
without the magnet that the Champions League, or indeed European football of
any sort, provides.
So what will Klopp need to
change - and maintain - after Liverpool lost their second final of the season
following the Capital One Cup defeat by Manchester City?
Liverpool lack
mental strength
The manner in which
Liverpool's performance fell off a cliff once Kevin Gameiro equalised for
Sevilla 17 seconds after the break, cancelling out Daniel Sturridge's brilliant
opener, was alarming and Klopp was clearly taken aback.
"We lost faith in our
style of play," said the German. "We changed from passing simple and
quick to slow and complicated and lost our formation."
This was a damning
indictment but a painful truth. Yes, Gameiro's equaliser was a psychological
blow but Liverpool still had virtually the entire second half to put matters
right.
No comments:
Post a Comment