Klopp grouchy ahead of Liverpool’s Spartak test

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp cut a tetchy figure during a slightlyshambolic press conference in Moscow yesterday to preview his side’sChampions League game against Spartak Moscow. Sound issues, somepeculiar questions from local reporters and a confused interpreter madefor a surreal atmosphere, but Klopp was also irritated by the questionshe received from the British journalists present.In response to a fairly lighthearted question about which Liverpoolplayers he loves, after his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart MauricioPochettino declared his ‘love’ for Harry Kane, the usually genial Germanpulled a face.“I’m really impressed that we are in a Champions League press conferenceand we talk about things like this. I really don’t understand thebusiness anymore,” Klopp said. “Yes, I love the club, that includes theplayers. I love Harry too. But he’s a Tottenham player. I love goodfootballers. That’s how it is.”As the female interpreter, sitting to his left, began to translate hisanswer into Russian, Klopp interrupted. “It’s not important for Russia,the question or my answer,” he said. “It’s just an English thing.Pochettino loves Kane. And who do I love? That was the question. It’s awaste of time.”Klopp was similarly unimpressed by a query about his team’swell-documented defensive problems, which have seen them concede 10goals in their three Premier League away games. Asked what the solutionwas, Klopp told his audience in a hotel suite at Moscow’s SheremetyevoAirport: “Work better together. Defence how I understand it is ateamwork thing. That’s what we were speaking about. I know you and yourcolleagues (in the media) talk about different things, but I talk aboutthe team performance. We have to defend better and that’s what we’reworking on all the time.”If Klopp has been spared more trenchant criticism, it is because histeam, when on song, are capable of playing attacking football ofscintillating quality. Liverpool crushed Arsenal 4-0 at the end ofAugust and in Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and newsigning Mohamed Salah they possess some of the most talented forwards inthe Premier League.The suspicion, which Klopp does not exactly deny, is that as long as histeam are scoring goals at one end of the pitch, he will not lose toomuch sleep about what is happening in his own penalty area. “If youwould ask me: ‘Do you want your team perfect in defending set-pieces,but don’t know how to play football, or would you prefer the other wayround?’ I still would take this (second) one,” he says.Liverpool’s quest for greater defensive solidity has not been helped bythe unpredictable form of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet or by Klopp’s ownselection choices. The 5-0 capitulation at Manchester City earlier thismonth came after he made the questionable choice to start Ragnar Klavaninstead of usual first-choice centre-back Dejan Lovren, who remained onthe bench.The Liverpool manager also regularly chops and changes his defence,notably rotating his full-backs between games, which has made itimpossible to achieve any kind of continuity.Matters were not helped by Liverpool’s frustrating transfer window,during which they missed out on prime defensive target Virgil van Dijk. Loris Karius, who Klopp has confirmed will start in goal instead ofSimon Mignolet at Otkrytiye Arena today, said he and his teammates havebeen working on how to tighten up at the back. “We scored a lot of goalsup front and sometimes we conceded a few,” said the German goalkeeper,who kept goal in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla in their openinggroup fixture.“I don’t think that’s just down to the defence. It’s got to do with ourvery offensive style of play, which means we sometimes take a few risksin defence. It’s worked very well for us in most of the games. Somegoals, we had a few words about as a team. I know we can defend thembetter. But we learned from it and we practise in training. Of course welook at things and we know where we can do better in defence. There’snot really any worries because I know we have the quality.”Russian champions Spartak looked set to open their Group E campaign witha useful 1-0 victory away to Maribor, only for Damjan Bohar to net an85th-minute equaliser for the Slovenians. Spartak’s Italian coachMassimo Carrera worked alongside Antonio Conte at Juventus and he hassounded out the Chelsea manager about how to get the better ofLiverpool. “We’ve discussed Liverpool with Conte,” said Carrera, who ledSpartak to their first Russian title since 2001 last season aftersucceeding Dmitri Alenichev at the dawn of the campaign. “It’s obviousthat they’re strong and have plenty of star players in their line-up.”