‘Furious’ Klopp ‘screamed abuse’ at Liverpool star in Brighton draw

It has been claimed that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was seen ‘screaming abuse’ at Virgil van Dijk during their 2-2 draw against Brighton.

Two up after 24 minutes thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane, Klopp’s side conceded one to a brilliant Enock Mwepu strike just before half-time and from that moment the direction of the game turned towards the visitors and remained with them for the rest of the match.

Unlike against Wednesday’s Champions League opponents Atletico Madrid two weeks ago when they bounced back from letting a 2-0 lead slip to win 3-2, Liverpool looked strangely out of sorts in the second half in direct contrast to the confidence they had played with for the opening 40 minutes.

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Klopp rarely criticises his players in public but voiced his displeasure at the second-half body language of some of his players, who nevertheless remained unbeaten for a 24th match to equal a similar run from 1989.

And it was clear during the match that Klopp was unhappy, in particular with Van Dijk, who Daily Mirror journalist David Maddock claimed got an earful from the Liverpool boss.

Maddock wrote on Twitter that Klopp was ‘absolutely screaming abuse at his star defender van Dijk, and giving him the furious thrown fists.’ The journalist added that ‘Big Virg, to be fair, blew out his cheeks, went “yeah, yeah”…and Liverpool life went on…’

Speaking about their defensive deficiencies after the 2-2 draw with Brighton, Klopp said: “There are different things, it is not always the same.

“I know now when we talk now about defending and the whole football world will say that’s why I am a pretty well-paid coach, but I don’t discuss on that level.

“It’s not only the last line, it’s not only a centre-half, it’s a common thing. We didn’t defend the half-spaces right and that was our problem.

“If you don’t defend the half-spaces well then the last line has to drop a little bit, which makes no sense. All of a sudden it is then not to defend any more and that’s how it is.

“The best way to defend them would have been to have had the ball and to do smart or clever stuff. That’s what we didn’t do enough and that’s why we paid the price for it.”