German coach Juergen Klopp confirmed that the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion is like a loss,
pointing to his players’ anger at wasting the opportunity to advance by five points at the top of
the Premier League.
Liverpool were on the cusp of exiting the three points from Anfield after taking the lead from Sadio Mane
in the 12th minute, but Simi Ajay equalized with a header near the end to prevent the defending champions
from winning on Sunday night.
Klopp has made clear that he is waiting for a more disciplined offer from his team, which leads the league
by 3 points from Everton, when it faces Newcastle United, on Wednesday, in its final match this year.
“It’s like (losing), but we got an extra point, so it’s good,” Klopp told reporters.
“The players feel angrier than anything else because they realize that this situation is not ideal, but this
is how things went. Now we must play the next match within 3 days.”
“We have to play with discipline as well, but in a different way. We have to perform and be good at attacking sides,
moves, creativity, and defense. In the end, we tied a match in the league, which can happen.”
Liverpool is already missing defense duo Virgil van Dyck and Joe Gomez due to long injuries, and Joel Matip
is likely to miss Newcastle’s match after suffering a muscle injury and knocking out after an hour of play.
The German coach added, “Joel is injured and this is not the first time a central defender has been injured.
This is definitely not good, especially at the moment, as we are doing well again, but this cannot be changed.
We must accept the matter and move forward.”
