Jurgen Klopp has addressed the media ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with West Ham on Wednesday. Here is what he has to say.
Jurgen Klopp denies provoking Man City fans
Jurgen Klopp has refuted Manchester City’s claims that he fueled the conflict between Liverpool and the Premier League champions and claimed that his remarks were misinterpreted.
After a stormy game on Sunday, Liverpool condemned City supporters for “vile” chants about the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters. At the same time, fans of the Merseyside club threw coins at Guardiola.
The 55-year-old decided not to respond to that accusation and insisted he wasn’t trying to incite anyone.
“That is the life of someone who speaks in public,” Klopp remarked.
“It’s not the first time that I’ve been misinterpreted. I was aware of my thoughts at the time I uttered them. I am powerless to stop someone from misunderstanding or trying to misunderstand what I said.”
“It is understood for years that I must exercise caution, and occasionally I am aware of this. I respond and state my opinion. Future attempts at doing it will be made.”
“I never intend to blame anyone or anything; instead, I speak my opinion or what I know about a situation. It is unchangeable. There has been nothing made of it that I intended.”
The ensuing controversy overshadowed Liverpool’s best performance of the year. According to Klopp, “All the buzz is about what I said, what I did, and what others took from it. That shouldn’t be the situation, in my opinion.”
Reporter: "You were accused directly, it appears, by Man City.. of something you, your whole life have actually stood against, xenophobia."
Klopp: "A lot of times I said things and they were open for misunderstanding… but this is not one of these moments." pic.twitter.com/yDgiAVPtSP
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) October 18, 2022
Jurgen Klopp on touchline ban
Klopp said that when asked about the red card against Man City and the touchline ban.
“Since nothing significant has occurred thus far, I believe I will be there [on the touchline].”
“I don’t think anything will happen. I still believe I should have handled the circumstance differently than I do most of the time. The game was so intense that both managers made several calls they didn’t comprehend.”
“In Germany, we say that the bucket only took one drop to overflow. I’m not pleased with my response, but that’s how it turned out.”
“After the game, Anthony Taylor and I had a conversation about how we both perceived the game. It was a relaxed conversation. However, we watch the procedure.”
? Jurgen Klopp on his touchline ban:
"I think I will be there tomorrow because nothing really happened yet.” ? pic.twitter.com/AU81Dhij8t
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) October 18, 2022
Klopp: Nunez needs some time to adapt to PL
Klopp asked about Darwin Nunez’s difficulty adjusting PL, and he responded. “It’s challenging. Nearly every time we sign a new person, we have this conversation.”
“Virgil [van Dijk] stepped in and was there, Mo [Salah] pretty much as well, Sadio [Mane], and some are exceptions. Still, some of the other boys had to adjust.”
“We shouldn’t lose sight of how young Darwin is and how quickly his career progressed in the past. It’s entirely typical. The Premier Competition is the most intense and competitive league worldwide.”
“I appreciate his significance. He’s an automaton. He is extremely physically powerful and improves daily in training. You can watch how he steadily settles. He is completely on the team mentally. He has completely arrived.”
Klopp on Darwin Nuñez: "I really like his impact. He's a machine. He's physically incredibly strong. In training he gets better every day and you can see how he settles more and more. Of course he wants to score more goals, and set up more goals as well, and it all will happen."
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) October 18, 2022
Klopp on the importance of the West Ham game
When asked about the importance of the West Ham game, Klopp said. “When you establish a start like the one we did, the season is at the point where everything is now a final. That was something we recently realised.”
“You can’t, in my opinion, give it any more significance than what we have already done. West Ham is someone we admire and has occasionally given us trouble. They have players of the highest calibre.”
“They can now openly admit that Michail Antonio played 80 games in the past. Great player, [Lucas] Paqueta. I am aware of [Thilo] Kehrer, a top-notch defender from Germany. Just a few examples.”
