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Published 12:36 29 Dec 2021 GMT
Updated 13:00 29 Dec 2021 GMT
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shakes hands with Jurgen Klopp ahead of the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium, in 2019. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)[/caption]
Mohamed Salah pictured during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at The King Power Stadium. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)[/caption]
Klopp responded by blasting the match officials and slamming the league for congested festive fixtures that have long been part of the English football furniture. The German got his wish, and his players got a rest, when Leeds United's Covid issues forced a December 26 game postponement.On Tuesday, Liverpool faced a Leicester side that had lost 6-3 to City just 48 hours before. Brendan Rodgers, the man Klopp replaced, had his players well drilled and primed to cause their visitors problems. Leicester still needed Kasper Schmeichel to have an excellent game but they more than earned their 1-0 win. As that result sank in and many Liverpool fans feared the title was slipping away, the general critique from the TV pundits and match reports was that this was an off-day for the Reds. No major dramas, but a winning return rapidly required. Liverpool's performance was similarly flat to that of Manchester United [a speck in the title race distance] against Newcastle. While several column inches and headlines were devoted to how flat Ralf Ragnick's Covid-hit side were, the Match of the Day focus was on how good Leicester were. Liverpool, in the main, got a pass. In the end, it was left to Klopp to read the riot act to his squad, ahead of Sunday's game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge:
"It was not our plan tonight to give City the chance to run away or whatever. But if we play like tonight, we don't have to think about catching up with City. But if we play our normal football, we can win normal football games. We have to see how many points we can get and we will see what that means." "I don't have a proper explanation for tonight but to find this explanation is my main concern and not, in this moment, the gap to City... I did not like a lot in our football game. That is not cool," he added.Klopp took over from Rodgers when Liverpool were 10th. Although they eventually finished eighth, it would be unfair to hang that season on him. However, if he finishes this season behind Manchester City again it will have been his sixth full tilt at winning the league with an impressively assembled squad. Others may give him a pass but to Klopp, that harsh critic and holder of high standards, it would be deemed a failure.
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