We Have To Defend Better – Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool’s defending for the goals conceded in the 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Leicester City made him feel “really, really sick.”

Klopp blasted his defence for allowing two goals from a corner and a throw-in, telling Sky Sports: “I’m sick of goals like this to be honest,you cannot play football and do that.”

“We always have to defend these situations better. The second ball after the corner, it’s close but it’s not offside, so we need to make it more clear that it’s offside. The only thing you can do is to push up — we didn’t.

“With the second one, it is a throw-in again. Everyone can imagine we know how to defend them but obviously we don’t do it, because always somebody else is doing it — that’s how it is, it doesn’t feel too cool but it’s the truth.

“We are still a good football team, I see it, but unfortunately it doesn’t feel [like that] at the moment because it’s a cup competition. We wanted to go into the next round and nobody is interested who plays the better first half.

“Everyone was interested in who goes through. We are not a team in the next round for some good reasons.

“But that we concede like this, that makes me really, really sick. That’s hard. The reaction, yes, you saw a young team playing one-twos on the left wing when we are 2-0 down, then they make a counter-attack, these are mistakes that I can live with because the two boys put together are 34 or something, so that can happen.

“But defending set-pieces is a thing, it’s not the first ball obviously — we always had problems with this — now it’s the second or third even. And the throw-in… [big sigh]

“To be really honest, it feels really hard at the moment to go out after a performance like the first half but that is what we have to expect because we should be able to make seven or eight changes and still play football, that’s cool, good, but if you concede goals like that it makes it really difficult.”

After a relatively bright first-half showing, Philippe Coutinho was taken off at half-time and replaced by Ben Woodburn.

Klopp revealed that the Brazilian’s withdrawal was in order and believes the playmaker looked promising in his 45-minute appearance.

“The plan before the game [was that] he needs match time but it was not allowed to let him play 90 minutes or 60 or 80, it was 45,” he added. “We need to make him fit but we cannot push him through. That’s all. Philippe was good. He is on schedule.”

Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare admitted his team were fortunate to be level heading into half-time, but praised their response in the second half.

“It’s all about the result in football. Of course, performances can have a massive bearing on that,” Shakespeare said.

“We led a charmed life in the first half and we know that our goal was under threat. I was just delighted to get in at half-time, and then even more delighted to see they had taken Coutinho off at half-time.

“You worry about your team performance and we asked to be more aggressive. We needed better hold-up play from the centre-forwards [in the] second half. We wanted to play on the front foot a bit more.

“It’s all about staying in the game at times. For as much chances and possession they had, it’s up to the opposition to take them.