In isolation, Jürgen Klopp did not have to apologise for losing for the first time in eight visits to Goodison Park. Bad nights happen. In the context of Liverpool’s sorry end to the season, however, an apology felt entirely appropriate.
“I really feel for the people, I am really sorry for that,” said the Liverpool manager after Wednesday’s derby defeat by Everton. “We never lost here before and that feels really different. I really apologise for that.” Klopp’s voice and choice of words captured Liverpool’s mood as the prospects of giving their manager a fitting send-off evaporated. Deflation. Yes, a new-look team was not expected to mount a title challenge this season. That is not a default excuse for recent underperformance. Yes, a quadruple is a fanciful ambition. That does not explain how Liverpool have allowed two, quite possibly three, trophies to slip from their grasp in less than six weeks.
Klopp’s team went down without a fight at a fired-up Goodison. They have dropped eight points in the past four Premier League matches and, as the manager acknowledged, require Arsenal and Manchester City to collapse to revive their title aspirations.
The downturn started with an avoidable FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Manchester United and includes a Europa League quarter-final loss to Atalanta. The worst European exit of Klopp’s tenure, in a tournament Liverpool were firm favourites to win, is the opportunity that really got away. Poor finishing, defensive lapses and tired individual performances have contributed to each setback. In a scathing assessment of the derby defeat Virgil van Dijk identified another fault, one rarely lacking throughout Klopp’s reign: character.
“Games like these, the bare minimum is fight,” the Liverpool captain said. “We were lacking that at so many moments in games; small challenges, some passes that were not clear so we came into challenges that they win and they get momentum out of it. They had I don’t know how many set pieces. That could make a difference because it’s a strength of theirs. But we have to look in the mirror and each and every one of us has to think like: ‘Listen, you can’t accept this. You can’t accept the way we let our season end.’ If we play like we did, even if we create two or three clearcut chances again, you don’t deserve to win the league.”
Klopp’s decision to go public in January with news of his shock departure – taken for perfectly valid and considerate reasons, such as affording his staff more time to find alternative employment – has been cited as a cause of Liverpool’s ill-timed slump. It is an all-too convenient narrative. There was no mention of the decision taking an emotional toll when a depleted Liverpool were inspired to win the Carabao Cup or clawed their way to the Premier League summit in spite of several mediocre displays. What is undoubtedly true is the reason Klopp gave for leaving. He is, as he said at the time, “running out of energy”. It is written in his face, his body language and his words.
The toll of so many long-term injuries, and players returning from injury but lacking match sharpness at the most unforgiving stage of a season, is a more legitimate argument for Liverpool’s poor form. The knock-on effect on confidence has also been evident. Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez were again wasteful against Everton. Salah had a remarkable fitness record before sustaining a serious hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. He had missed only 10 Premier League games in seven seasons, and two of those were due to international commitments. Since being sidelined for the best part of two months – the first extended spell out during his Liverpool career – the striker who was so decisive in the first half of the season has struggled to regain his edge. Salah’s profligacy and Diogo Jota’s frequent injury problems have heightened responsibility on Núñez and Luis Díaz in front of goal. Both have been found wanting.
Liverpool’s players have held meetings among themselves to discuss why they have faltered, and what they can do to correct their form. Their captain is adamant there is no one, simple explanation. “It’s a mix of everything,” Van Dijk said. “You can’t put a finger on it. It’s confidence, inexperience, challenges, maybe being afraid to make mistakes in this part of the season. I don’t know. It’s a mix but it brings us to the situation where we can’t accept this. As everyone at the start of the season would say, no one put us even close to where we are right now. We kept doing our thing, playing games, finding ways to win, even with red cards and even with last-minute winners. We kept doing that and that’s our big credit. But now it’s crunch time and we’ve not been good enough in the way we finished the chances off, in the way we defended together and also the fight. I think we have to show much more. We can’t let the season end like this.”
The Netherlands international added: “We had talks with the team and everyone is agreeing but on matchday, that’s where it counts. We have to show the reaction against West Ham. We can’t just accept the fact that we’re going to let the season go by like this.”
