Jurgen Klopp admits that Liverpool's difficulties this season have at times left him confused. Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Powell
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his club is trying to avoid the 'whirlwind' that has sucked the life out of their season as they seek to reverse the terrible form that has left them eighth in the Premier League.
A 23. Points advantage over Arsenal at the end of last season turned into a 29-point gap before the teams meet on Sunday, and Klopp admitted that his team was in a spiral of inefficiency.
“You are entering in Game. this whirlwind, and it sucks you in that direction. And all of a sudden it's like, «Wow, where are we?» Klopp said.
«I'm as good a coach as I was last year, definitely not. This does not mean that the result is good enough, not at all. But I'm no worse — and the players are no worse than the players. They just play worse. It definitely is.»
Arsenal's transformation in 12 months proves that the lack of football in the Champions League need not be a disaster. Klopp will aim for similar improvements when he adds new players this summer.
He said, «We can't make 24 changes and say, 'Let's go.' Not even 10 [changes], but we just have to make changes — smart changes — and then we go again. We have other moments to think about what will happen next year, but now is not the time.
“But yes, with smart recruiting, we will definitely improve. That's the plan.»
Analysis: When you go through the storm… how Liverpool got sucked into the whirlwind and how they can get out of itPoor planning after the narrow failure of the 2022 quadruple bid
Gray clouds began to gather on the opening day of the Premier League season when Liverpool lost in a 2-2 away draw against newly promoted Fulham. A week after a high-profile victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield, Klopp's team looked like they were exhausted at the end of a tough campaign and ill-equipped for a new four-season assault.
Joel Matip reacts to Liverpool's season starting hard at Fulham — Liverpool in sight storm. Photo: Reuters/Peter Cziborra
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion of a serious miscalculation of how much the previous 63-game campaign took away from the players, and the suspicion that pre-season training for a unique campaign that included a mid-season World Cup jeopardized overall fitness levels. . The core of Klopp's team fell behind the pace for eight months, especially away from home, where they could not feed on the kinetic energy of the guerrilla crowd at home.
A loss of energy has exposed Liverpool to accusations that they made a mistake by failing to upgrade their aging midfield, the tried and true trio of centrals Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara failed to maintain the standards that convinced Klopp he could wait for another one. season to intensify. its central zone.
The end of a brilliant career as new signings take over
After the summer of 2016, Liverpool embarked on an unusual sequence in which every major signing that was not called Naby Keita instantly looked sensational. The most recent recruits must be registered under the «work in progress» category. Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Cody Gakpo earned a ticket ticket for their inconsistency while they learned the basics of a struggling team. There have been enough glimpses — certainly in the case of Nunes and Gakpo — to suggest that they will prove their long-term value.
The latest additions are not a problem. Much more was required from substitute players who had not been so tense over the past four years and needed to come out of the shadows. Instead, players like Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain look like they're doing their best to work off fat contracts. If they had contributed more, the vacuum in midfield wouldn't have been as obvious.
The level gap between left-back Kostas Tsimikas and Andrew Robertson is also too big, while deputies Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk have also been inconsistent. Injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota meant that the sale of Sadio Mane had more of an impact than originally thought, as Nunez and later Gakpo took on the unenviable task of replacing the irreplaceable instantly. So instead of Anfield's expected year of sustainability, it has been a season of tumultuous transition.
How will Klopp return the club to a golden sky?
Klopp has acknowledged a lack of performance, acknowledged last summer's set of mistakes and not only does not tire of the task , but also emotionally invested in recovery.
His top summer goals are no secret and if he can use his famous motivational skills to convince Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount that they are the vehicle to revive Klopp's 'gegenpressing' it will lift spirits at Anfield as well. like Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko at Arsenal last summer.
Nunez and Gakpo need to get completely used to Klopp's methods and the weekly demands of English football by the start of next season, and Liverpool also have interesting youngsters like Harvey Elliott who have grown up in front of some of the most demanding viewers of the world. Such experience should be invaluable for the next steps.
If last pre-season a tired team dusted itself off and tried to find fuel for a new game, then Klopp's mood and his fitness work in the summer. 2023 will be entirely focused on the revival.
«Of course there will be a fresh start because it's a new season,» he said. «This club has a chance to get through this in a cool way.»
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