Klopp must play against Leipzig in the Champions League – sport

The question shocked Jürgen Klopp in his heart. The difficult answer was easy to tell from his reaction. Should Liverpool give up defending their Premier League title now? His gaze was pointed down, and there was silence for seconds at the press conference after Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Leicester City.

Klopp might have thought for a while about winning the championship the previous season, when Liverpool returned to the top for the first time in 30 years in England. Or bad luck with injuries that worry his team. Perhaps Klopp, who drew his strength often for stunning victories from defeats, struggled with his composure before he found his words: “Yes. I can’t believe it, but yes.” The collective paper Sun A merciless address:Glassitulation “- referring to” The Kop “, the cult stage at Liverpool FC’s stadium.

It looks like it’s over. Now it is important not to lose the Champions League qualification. With their fifth defeat in their last ten league matches (the third in a row), Liverpool could miss one of the top four in the table again five years later. In order to put this in a schedule, Chelsea with coach Thomas Tuchel, who followed Klopp as coach in Borussia Dortmund in 2015, would be enough to tie in the second leg against Newcastle United on Monday.

After an early exit from the National Cup competition and surrender in the tournament, Liverpool FC currently only have the current Champions League round for one title. The first leg of the 16th round will be against RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga on Tuesday. Location: Budapest. German authorities refused entry to Liverpool from the high-risk region of Great Britain. So everything now only passes through turns. By turning, Liverpool could theoretically gain the right to start in first division: however, they should win the competition.

Gundogan gates accelerate the overtaking maneuver in the city

Return to the Premier League. As if Liverpool had assumed responsibility during their highest levels, the champions lost an unprecedented 21 points to leaders Manchester City since Christmas – eight weeks ago City were eight points behind. “This gap can no longer be closed,” Klopp said, and his team must start winning again. It won’t be easy, because besides long-injured midfield defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, he has lost four other key players to Leicester in Fabinho, James Milner, Diogo Jota and Naby Keita. Who is playing against Leipzig? The doctor decides.

The sporting contrast between Liverpool and City is currently sharpened by Ilkay Gundogan, who has scored ten of his eleven goals this season while chasing after him. After his brace against Liverpool (4-1) the previous week, the German international scored twice (50/66) again on Saturday in City’s surprise 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, their 16th consecutive competitive victory. Gundogan would have scored three goals in a professional match for the first time if he had converted the remaining penalty kick to fellow Rodrigo (23) himself. Gundogan, who won the double with Klopp in Dortmund in 2012, is on the top scorers list, climbing to eighth. He is only six goals behind Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah. Gündogan’s primary attacking stance is the result of the team’s revised playing style, in which coach Pep Guardiola has responded flexibly to the season’s woes. Klopp shows the opposite: despite big failures, he wants to keep pushing forward with his style, the high-stakes game with very advanced defense.

In this way, Club-Elf surrounded Leicester in the half of its stadium for minutes in the second half, and rewarded him with a wonderful goal from Salah (67). However, in light of the constant change of defense, it appeared from neglect that Klopp had not strengthened his defense after that. On the contrary: Leicester used the opponent’s absolute courage within seven minutes to score three goals – via James Madison (78th), Jimmy Fardy (81) and Harvey Barnes (85th).

Lester’s second blow was symbolic. Show what was really happening with the deposed master. After a bad pass from teammate Andrew Robertson, Thiago unnecessarily loosened his position in front of the defense and sent off the ball. A regular pass was enough for Leicester to expose Liverpool’s defense, who were outnumbered in their own half. Although the winter entry by Ozan Kabak brought in by Schalke and recently insecure goalkeeper Alison Baker could have cleared the situation, they pushed each other away. Allison’s haste indicated a distrust of his men. Captain Jordan Henderson and Capac have forged the 13th center-back in 24 league matches.

Liverpool’s lack of defensive ability in midfield is more evident than the defensive problem. Slender Georginio Wijnaldum, known for his offensive rounds, often has to help as a central anchor in front of the defense. Next to him, the inexperienced Curtis Jones – and the Spaniard Thiago. He was brought in as the ball distributor from Bayern Munich, and Thiago did not have time to get used to the idea of ​​the match in Liverpool due to injury for three months. The equation started with an error in the penalty area.