Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool's Slow Start Against Fulham & Joel Matip Injury
By Tom Gott
Liverpool missed the chance to move to the top of the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 draw with an excellent Fulham side at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
The Cottagers came racing out of the gates and were all over Liverpool in the first half. They were denied a penalty but did manage to open the scoring through Bobby Decordova-Reid midway through the half, and it took a penalty from Mohamed Salah to salvage a point for Jurgen Klopp's side.
Here's what Reds boss Klopp had to say after the game.
On a Game of Two Halves
“I am not frustrated anymore about that [Liverpool’s start], but you are right: it took us half an hour to get going and that of course makes the game more difficult," he said (via the club's official website).
“It was the first time supporters were here for a long, long time and obviously [they] created an atmosphere. We helped Fulham a lot to create that atmosphere, actually. They obviously played differently to the way they usually play; a lot of direct balls, Loftus-Cheek second ball, high ball fight and these kind of things. A lot of free-kicks – I think there were a lot of set-pieces in the first half.
“That’s how it is. With the ball I didn’t like our game, but there was a lot of loud shouting from outside from all the coaches, so we could solve that a little bit in the first half – like for 15 minutes – but then half-time helped massively and the second half was much better.
“I think in the first half an hour we could have lost the game, in the last 60 minutes we should have won it. In the end we get a point and that’s it.”
On VAR's Impact on the Fulham Goal
The Fulham fans enjoyed that one! ?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 14, 2020
Klopp felt Fulham's goal should have been disallowed because of a push from Antonee Robinson on Salah earlier in the move, but VAR chose not to punish the incident.
“It’s a clear foul, nothing else,” he said (via The Times). “Pushing gets an advantage and he [Robinson] can get the ball. If he doesn’t push Mo then it’s a different challenge and Mo gets the ball. Two hands. It’s normal contact, yes, but enough contact to gain an advantage. That’s a foul.”
On the Return of Alisson
“You could see in one or two situations that he needs rhythm too, but in the key moments he was there. Sensational saves, obviously, but the goalkeeper on the other side had a pretty important job to do as well.”
On Joel Matip's Injury
Centre-back Joel Matip was taken off at half-time after suffering a back injury, with Jordan Henderson dropping into defence to join midfielder partner Fabinho at the back.
“Joel Matip has a spasm in his back. We will see. In the moment, nothing else. He got already treatment, will get treatment and we will see. I think there’s a chance for Wednesday. [It’s not that bad] in the moment, no.”
“We are not struggling with numbers in the centre-back positions. We have some, they are just getting younger and younger – [but] we still have centre-backs. Today we brought Hendo into that position.
“The situation is like it is; I actually hope Joel will be fine but I don’t know. Then we have to find a solution, that’s how a football season is.”