Liverpool had to battle back against Aston Villa without Jurgen Klopp on the touchline as the German served a ban handed to him by the FA after he ranted about referee Paul Tierney
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team lacked their usual intensity, according to Gabby Agbonlahor, because Klopp couldn’t “keep his mouth shut.”
Aston Villa earned a point at Anfield to end the Reds’ winning streak, dealing a serious blow to their chances of finishing in the top four, which may soon be over. After putting on a middling performance, Liverpool needed a goal from Roberto Firmino to prevent a loss.
Klopp watched from the stands because the FA had suspended him, preventing him from occupying his usual dugout position. Following Liverpool’s thrilling victory over Tottenham, the German had an outburst and took aim at referee Paul Tierney.
The Reds manager’s absence coincided with a decline in his team’s performance, and Agbonlahor is adamant that if he had remained silent, he could have been on the touchline and made sure his team was performing at the required level.
Liverpool, he claimed on TalkSport, “lacked intensity and creativity for at least the first 70 minutes. Klopp, who is notorious for speaking without thinking, said that. if he receives a suspension, he will be in the stands rather than the field. If Klopp were on the touchline, he wouldn’t permit the players to give that performance.
“Villa, of course, were outstanding. However, Liverpool’s performance that afternoon was not typical. He’s not there because he can’t control his speech when you need your manager on the touchline of such a crucial game.”
The Reds’ manager has never been averse to using weak language.
In his post-game interviews, he has previously lamented refereeing choices.
In spite of PGMOL being adamant that he acted appropriately, he recently suggested that Tierney had a personal issue with him given their history.
After the tie, Klopp acknowledged Liverpool’s shortcomings, saying: “Our pressing was not good, you could see we wanted but the timing was wow, ‘Who is where?’ That was not helpful. They had opportunities during the game, and they are undoubtedly a good football team. We played into their hands. They get a penalty, score their goal.”
The stalemate means Manchester United and Newcastle only need a point from their two remaining games to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League with the Reds having to settle for Europe’s secondary competition – which Klopp confessed they perhaps deserved.
He said: “I think the whole season is rather a season where we qualify for Europa League than for Champions League. For a very long time, neither we nor our abilities were sufficient.”
