Jurgen Klopp has hit out at Burnley’s style of play, specifically criticising some of the challenges thrown at his players during Liverpool’s win at Anfield.
Liverpool continued their winning start in the Premier League with a hard-fought win over Burnley at a packed Anfield. Goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane got Jurgen Klopp his three points, although the German tactician was utterly unhappy with how the game transpired.
Burnley were as their usual self, making hard challenges and tackles to thwart off the opposition. Sean Dyche’s men put up a decent performance but never came close to unlocking a rock-solid Liverpool defence. However, there came about plenty of harsh tackles from several Burnley stars during the game, making Klopp unhappy.
The Liverpool boss was quick to point out their style of play and criticised several challenges aimed at his central defenders Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip. Both the centre-backs are coming at the back of long-term injuries and only returned to the starting lineup last weekend.
While those players were lucky to escape injuries, Klopp raised a long-term concern over rules. The manager suggested there should be rules in place to protect players from this kind of gameplay.
Those challenges seemingly spoiled Klopp’s mood after a win against a side that ruined his tremendous home record last season as Burnley beat Liverpool in an empty Anfield last season. The Irish Independent posted quotes after Klopp was speaking to BT Sport following the win and addressed those many issues there.
Klopp said, “Burnley was never a game where you are just flying or whatever and can outplay them, or at least not for us. We always had to be ready for a proper fight. We were today in a really difficult game because you saw these challenges with (Ashley) Barnes and (Chris) Wood and Virgil (Van Dijk) and Joel (Matip).
“I’m not 100 per cent sure if we are going in the right direction with this kind of decisions. It feels like we go back 10, 15 years back to when we said, ‘oh, that was the football we wanted to see. It’s just too dangerous. You cannot really touch the situations. It’s just hard. The rules are what they are, but the thing is, you can’t defend these situations.”
