Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been subjected to immense scrutiny following the Reds’ 2-0 loss against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup this week.
The Merseysiders have been winless in their last four outings in all competitions and currently sit at eighth on the Premier League table with just eight points from five games. One criticism that Klopp had to endure practically from his first day at Anfield is his repeated failure to address the club’s defence.
Liverpool spent close to the region of £80 million in the summer transfer window but only £8 million of it went into defensive reinforcements – Hull City left-back Andrew Robertson.
Writing in his column for the Independent, Leeds United legend Johnny Giles has delivered an extremely critical view on the German’s situation at Liverpool right now.
“When a manager reaches into his bag of excuses and can come up with nothing more than blaming players, he’s in trouble. Jurgen Klopp is in that place now,” he wrote.
“The more I see of Liverpool under Klopp, the more convinced I become that the blame lies firmly at his feet, although he is not helped by a group of defenders who lack some basic skills.
“I saw some comparisons with Brendan Rodgers in the newspapers yesterday and from where I’m sitting, Liverpool are worse off now under Klopp,” added Giles.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager has now taken charge of Liverpool in 73 matches in the Premier League winning just 37 of those ties. Compared to that, Rodgers had won 41 games in his first 73 matches for the club.
Giles took another swing at Liverpool’s defence insisting that the responsibility for the club’s defensive frailties lie completely with Klopp.
“I look at Klopp’s Liverpool and I see the fundamentals of defending ignored, players out of position often and chaos every time they have to defend a set-piece,” he wrote.
“After the Leicester defeat, Klopp claimed he was sick of this type of defending and yet he is responsible for it.”
The Reds will travel to the King Power stadium again this weekend to play Leicester City in the league, and it goes without saying that Klopp would be plotting for revenge.
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