The German boss often has an excuse when things don't go the Reds' way, and can sound like a man out of touch with reality
On September 30, 2023, Tottenham won a football match against Liverpool, moving to within just one point of Premier League leaders Manchester City in the process. The hosts were good value for the victory, too, having peppered the Reds' goal with shots for the best part of 70 minutes after a red card for Curtis Jones.
But Ange Postecoglou's side didn't get much chance to bask in their 2-1 victory, which was completely overshadowed by a video assistant referee blunder that saw a 34th-minute Luis Diaz' goal wrongly disallowed for offside. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued a statement after the match admitting that a "significant human error" took place, and vowed to launch a full review into the incident.
A few days later, PGMOL released the full audio of the discussions that took place between the match officials, with VAR Darren England saying "check complete" after incorrectly thinking that the on-field decision was 'goal' – which mistakenly signalled to referee Simon Hooper and his team that the original offside decision was correct.
"I never saw a game like this with the most unfair circumstances, crazy decisions," Jurgen Klopp told in the immediate aftermath of the game, but he insisted that he "wasn't in the mood" to go into too much detail about the Diaz offside in his press conference.
The Liverpool boss had plenty to say when he faced the media again ahead of his team's Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise, though, as he expressed the need "to deal with it in a proper way". Klopp continued: "Some people probably don't want me to say, but not as the manager of Liverpool so much, more as a football person, the only outcome should be a replay. That's how it is. It probably will not happen."
It was a shameless statement from a man that has developed a reputation for whining since his arrival at Anfield in 2015. It has been reported that the Premier League will not be considering a replay, which is absolutely the right stance.
VAR has stirred up endless controversy since it's introduction in 2019-20, and every single team in the English top-flight has had reason to feel aggrieved at one point or another. Liverpool should absolutely not be given special treatment.
It all really boils down to Klopp being a bit of a bad loser, as it is far from the first time that he has made excuses when he doesn't get the result that he wants. As such, GOAL is here to run down the biggest whinges from the Liverpool manager over the course of his seven-year tenure…
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'Extreme' English wind
Two months after Klopp's arrival on Merseyside, Liverpool had dropped to 10th in the Premier League table, with five draws and three losses posted in his first 16 games at the helm. The 'Gengenpressing' tactical approach that served him so well at Borussia Dortmund wasn't working with the Reds – which he blamed on the English weather.
Klopp told reporters: "There is a different style of football here, partially due to the weather. The wind can be quite extreme in England. We are not familiar with that in Germany and you have to keep things simple. Players who are not from the UK have to get used to the winds. I have to adapt my style of football as a result as well. Often, you are forced to keep things simple."
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'Difficult for a football playing side'
Liverpool reached the League Cup semi-finals in 2016-17, and lost the first leg of their tie against Southampton 1-0 at Anfield. Klopp's side then exited the competition after being beaten by the same scoreline at St Mary's, despite dominating possession with 83 percent of the ball.
Instead of pointing to a lack of cutting edge, Klopp insisted that his old nemesis, the wind, was the main reason for Liverpool's failure.
"First half, it was difficult – the wind was really strange, it was difficult to handle," he said. "You saw one or two times when the ball stopped in a moment when nobody knew about it. That was difficult for a football-playing side."
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TV conspiracy
In January 2018, Liverpool's FA Cup hopes went up in smoke after a surprise 3-2 fourth-round loss to West Brom at Anfield. Lengthy VAR reviews took place in the first half as West Brom saw a goal disallowed, Liverpool had a penalty awarded, and the visitors' had their third goal of the game upheld.
There was only four minutes of stoppage-time, though, and Klopp suggested that match broadcaster was responsible for the reduction.
“What I heard was that the actual extra time in the first half should have been 10 minutes," said the German coach. "It was only four. I heard that television said it’s not longer than four minutes.
"Of course that’s not possible, you can’t cut match time because there is something else to broadcast. I don’t know what was on afterwards, maybe the news or something. It was 10 minutes and so you need to play 10 minutes longer. You can't say, ‘It’s now a little bit too long.’”
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Dry pitch digs
Liverpool faced West Brom again three months later in the Premier League, this time at The Hawthorns, and slumped to a 2-2 draw after surrendering a two-goal lead late on. The visitors were certainly guilty of allowing their concentration levels to dip, but Klopp was more frustrated over the state of the pitch, and couldn't resist a petty dig at the all-but relegated Baggies.
"It was a difficult game, especially after the pitch got drier and drier, we had the ball constantly and it's not so easy," Klopp complained. "West Brom obviously decided not to water the pitch at half-time again. It was quite difficult.
"I was not happy with the pitch. You never played football, obviously. It makes a massive difference. If you're like West Brom, the ball constantly in the air, you don't need a wet pitch. That's how it is and we have to deal with that. They can do it next year, playing with a dry pitch in the Championship."