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Jurgen Klopp defended his defense after they faced some awkward moments in Liverpool’s first Premier League match without Virgil van Dijk.
Klopp contested the penalty decision that gave Sheffield United an early lead after Fabinho’s challenge over Oli McBurnie and threatened a big upset at Anfield.
Although Liverpool came back to win 2-1, Fabinho, a converted midfielder, had a difficult time alongside McBurnie, particularly in the air, adding to the debate over whether the champions should sign another central half in January.
“It was clear that it was a challenge to win the ball,” Klopp said of the 13-minute decision that was initially given out of the box by referee Mike Dean before the VAR ruled that it had taken place at the penalty area line. .
“ We were on the wrong side of another decision and that gave Sheffield a boost so they could really get to us, but luckily we were able to work that out tonight so maybe I shouldn’t talk too much about that.
“We had a difficult week with a lot of minutes against tough opponents (Everton and Ajax), so I am really satisfied with the response.
‘The penalty was not even a foul. During a season there are so many different periods, we have had an injustice and we have had to go again ”.
Despite being at the top of the table, McBurnie showed Liverpool’s potential weakness in the air without Van Dijk, who could miss the rest of the season after sustaining ACL damage at Everton a week ago.
McBurnie missed a golden opportunity to put his team 2-0 up and had another penalty claim rejected before Sadio Mané set goals for Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.
“He put in a proper performance at No. 9 and got in between his two center halves,” said his admiring Blades manager Chris Wilder.
‘I can take our performance every day, it was really good. But this is a ruthless league and it is a cruel result. ”
Klopp especially praised Mane, who was the main attacking threat, as well as a daring free kick from the midline by Trent Alexander-Arnold that nearly saw a goal.
Sadio was outstanding. One on one, you couldn’t defend yourself against him, ‘Klopp added.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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