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Liverpool board have a new reason to sack Jurgen Klopp after dire Man City battering
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was pained as his side crashed to a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Man City V Liverpool: Pictures
There’s no denying Jurgen Klopp is a Liverpool legend. The German has brought the glory days back to Anfield in recent years, after more than two decades stuck in the wilderness. But Saturday afternoon’s defeat at the hands of Manchester City has given the board a fresh reason to relieve the 55-year-old of his duties.
Liverpool took the lead against City through Mohamed Salah, with the mercurial Egypt international rifling past Ederson after some good work from Diogo Jota.
But the Reds then fall apart after Julian Alvarez had drawn the home side level, sparking wild celebrations inside the Etihad Stadium in the process.
Kevin De Bruyne poked City ahead shortly after the restart, with the Belgian prodding home after a pinpoint delivery from Riyad Mahrez.
And further goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish boosted Pep Guardiola’s hopes of emulating fierce rivals Manchester United by winning three titles in a row.
Standing on the sidelines, Klopp looked aghast.
The German’s temper was clearly threatening to boil over at times, with his usual angry frown beamed around the world on the cameras.
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He is a magician for what he’s achieved at Liverpool. A modern-day managerial great for helping to re-awaken a sleeping giant after so many years of hitting the snooze button.
But he is now set to oversee the club’s worst campaign in recent memory, with the defeat to City dealing a substantial blow to their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Too many times this season, his players have downed tools.
It happened in the Champions League when they were battered at home by Real Madrid, while doing nothing to turn the tide at the Bernabeu.
It has happened ever since they hammered Manchester United 7-0, losing all three of their fixtures in the time since.
And it also occurred when the Reds fell to losses against the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Brighton, too.
It is alarming. A sign that perhaps, now, Klopp has lost the ability to get his players to dance to his tune.
Many are going backwards. Key stalwarts such as Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Andy Robertson are a shadow of their old selves.
When a manager’s players lose their fight, things usually get worse instead of getting better.
And that would alarm Liverpool’s hierarchy, with key figures likely watching the match against City with grimaces of their own.
There are some top bosses available. Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann, in particular, could be the answer.
We’re not saying Klopp should go of course. Liverpool would be right to stand by the former Borussia Dortmund boss given everything he’s achieved.
But with his side getting worse, and the club’s rivals getting stronger, Liverpool bringing the axe crashing down is starting to feel like a genuine possibility.
Speaking after the game, Klopp also hammered his players - accusing them of a lack of effort and fight as they succumbed to defeat.
“We cannot not have challenges in key areas or be that open,| he said.
“Now I stand here and have to explain it but I cannot explain it.
"I cannot change it now, here, I can just report what I saw and we will talk about it tomorrow. These things happened too often."
As for Pep Guardiola, the Man City boss was delighted with his side’s display.
"Minute one to minute 93 was a perfect performance - even though we concede a goal we played really well,” he said.
“They [Liverpool] always have threat on transition but we played really good. One of the best performances in my seven years.
"The players knew we weren't playing bad. One goal down and we continued to do it and had just a bit of chat at half time and were lucky to score the second goal.
“But then at 2-1 the game was stable."