Liverpool news: Jurgen Klopp’s private text to Arne Slot as Reds boss points finger of blame

The latest Liverpool news as Arne Slot’s side were demolished by Manchester City on Sunday, with the Reds’ boss coming under pressure once again

After back-to-back wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, Liverpool’s short-lived revival was sent crashing down on Sunday by Manchester City. The champions succumbed to their fifth defeat in 11 Premier League games as goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and Jeremy Doku gave City a commanding win.

Reds’ boss Arne Slot now finds himself facing renewed pressure following Sunday’s hammering. The outcome means Liverpool are now languishing in eighth place in the Premier League, with Slot shelving any talk of a title challenge for now.

To rub salt in their wounds, Liverpool had to contend with a controversial VAR decision in the contest with City. Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser, which would have pitched the game at 1-1 before half-time, was contentiously ruled out after a review.

As the fallout from the game continues, the Reds have been handed a verdict on that decision. While Slot may be under scrutiny, he can count on the backing of Jurgen Klopp, who has texted the Liverpool manager. In other news, Slot himself has accepted the blame for Liverpool’s humbling loss to City.

Private text

While Slot is facing the first major crisis in his Liverpool career, he can take solace in the fact that he was backed by his legendary predecessor, long before the Dutchman’s current struggles at Anfield.

READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool were robbed as he slams match officials and VARREAD MORE: Sky Sports pundit demands rule change after Liverpool controversy – ‘Too complicated’

Klopp revealed he had exchanged messages with the former Feyenoord boss before his arrival on Merseyside. “Arne, yeah. Really good coach,” he told ESPN last year following Slot’s appointment.

“I was really happy when I heard that Liverpool was going for Arne Slot. I wasn’t involved in anything, it should not be like that, and I’m not this kind of guy in the background, still having some strings and stuff. Like I don’t want that. The club is too big, too good. [The] People are too good.

“A lot of things changed since we left. But the only concern for me was, will they get a good coach? Liverpool was early and Liverpool got a top, top, top solution in Arne Slot.”

However, Klopp didn’t reveal the specifics of their conversation. He added: “We spoke one or two times [at the start]. I think we texted a few more times. But there is nothing I can tell him what he couldn’t know himself. Right now from my side, just to give positive feedback in the beginning because we are all human beings and he worked his socks off.

“I know that because the tour is super intense in a year when you have Euros and Copa, you don’t have the team together, but they come, you have one week until the first matchday and stuff like that. So I think he had similar situation, but exactly the same situation? Definitely not.

“When I saw the games, that’s why I watched it, not to think, oh, how does it look? The work he did was obvious, the ideas obvious. And that’s the best you can say about the coach.”

Slot points finger of blame

With the question of who is at fault for the Reds’ woes this season continuing to fall on players and manager alike, Slot has said the blame should be laid at the feet of his tactics, not his players.

Slot named an unchanged side from the XI that beat Real Madrid 1-0 at Anfield in the Champions League on Tuesday. Yet the same players struggled to match City in practically every department on the pitch at the Etihad.

“It’s easy for players to win their duels if the game plan and tactics are working,” Slot said. “What I did against Villa and Madrid, we struggled now a lot with them bringing so many players into the centre of the pitch.

“It was difficult for some of our players then to make the right decisions. It wasn’t about my players not wanting to make duels, they had to run a lot because they were so much better on the ball than us. Our players were then sometimes too late.

“I would look to the game-plan first and foremost of us and them and not blame my players at all. In the second half when we were doing better you could see could us winning much more duels. Then we were more than a few times able to win the ball, which didn’t result in a goal for us.

“But in the second half we definitely deserved a goal. Of course, everyone is disappointed. It was a very good start to the week, winning against Villa and Real Madrid, but if you’ve already faced two strong opponents, and then you have Man City coming at the Etihad, that is always difficult for every team, including us.”

Liverpool given VAR verdict

Liverpool thought they had found their way back into the clash with City after Van Dijk had put them level with a smart header from a corner. However, following a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for offside, with Andy Robertson adjudged to be interfering with play.

Former referee and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Keith Hackett has explained why he believes the wrong call was made.

“Well, we saw Liverpool have a perfectly good goal ruled out on the basis of offside,” he told Football Insider. We know there is a degree of subjectivity in this specific law, but let’s have a look at it.”

He added: “A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team mate.”

He continued: “Interfering with an opponent by preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play by clearly obstructing the opponents line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball.

“Yes he’s [Robertson] in an offside position but that in itself not an offence. Did he really interfere with the goalkeeper? I think the goalkeeper had a clear line of sight, he could’ve saved it, he didn’t, the ball went in and the officials took the easy decision to give offside and rule out the goal. Wrong in my opinion. Yes I agree a degree of subjectivity around this law, but my opinion is I don’t like good goals being ruled out.“

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