UCL: Klopp still furious about kickoff times after Liverpool’s defeat
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s changes cost the team rhythm in a 2-0 loss to Atalanta at Anfield in UEFA Champions League play on Wednesday night.
The schedule congestion is clearly on Klopp’s mind, and the Liverpool boss continues to stress about Premier League kickoff times for his side.
"We have to recover and go again at the weekend, another big game."@JamesMilner called on the Reds to move on quickly from an off-night at Anfield…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 25, 2020
Klopp admitted that Atalanta was the superior team on Wednesday. Few would disagree, as the Serie A side held Liverpool without a shot on target over 90 minutes.
“Not a good game for a long period for both teams but then obviously they found a way to hurt us with these crosses in the box in that area and we didn’t find a way to hurt them. That’s how it is. It’s a deserved defeat. I have to admit that and it doesn’t feel great obviously but it’s not to change anymore and in 67 hours we have to play again. I gave the boys 10 minutes to be disappointed, told them in the dressing room, again, come on, feel the defeat, absolutely right, and then recovery starts and we go again.”
Klopp’s Liverpool next plays at Brighton at 7:30 am ET Saturday before a 3 pm ET Tuesday visit from Ajax, who plays at 12:45 pm ET Saturday.
Klopp is not going to let anyone forget that his team isn’t getting a lot of rest before Saturday, while next week’s opponents play later in the day.
"Ajax doesn't play at 12:30 on a Saturday by the way."
Jurgen Klopp was left frustrated by the fixture schedule and the 2-0 defeat to Atalanta, but insists his side won't dwell on the result. #UCL #beINUCL 📺 HD11
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“Ajax doesn’t play at Saturday at 12:30 by the way so that’s another thing: We get somebody who thinks to throw us a stick between the legs,” Klopp said.
“We play Brighton. They are a really good football team. They make the pitch big and we have to run a lot. That’s why we make the changes tonight. We see how many we will make for Saturday and then we have to make changes again for Tuesday so it’s a tough period we have to go through.”