Liverpool recorded their lowest possession in the Premier League since 2018 at Chelsea, a figure Jurgen Klopp has lambasted as “an absolute joke.”
After the draw at Chelsea, where Liverpool looked like they could tear the London side apart in the opening exchanges, Klopp admitted his side “opened the door” for the hosts.
Instead of continuing to press and harass the opposition, the Reds dropped deeper and struggled to keep hold of the ball, resulting in a lowly 35 percent possession.
Not since the 2-2 draw against Tottenham in 2018 have Liverpool recorded a lower possession percentage, which should “not happen.”
Ahead of the second game of the season, Klopp was quick to lament how his side started to rush their disposals and deviated from the plan at Chelsea.
“What we lacked in that game was rhythm, especially in possession,” Klopp said of the 1-1 draw. “We had 35 percent possession, which is an absolute joke. That should not happen.
“There’s no game I can imagine, it can happen against City on a speical day or if it’s an idea to do it like that, but it was not our idea for that game.
“It happened because were in too much of a rush with the ball.”
The starting XI included four of Liverpool’s five senior forwards while Alexis Mac Allister was tasked with the No. 6 role in the absence of a specialist in the position.
Klopp hailed the World Cup winner and remained adamant his side’s problems did not stem from him in the defensive midfield role.
“Our problems did not come from the position of Macca, or rather offensive-oriented players in the No. 6 – nothing to do with it,” Klopp said.
“We didn’t play enough football, that was our problem. We got into a rush after the equaliser, and they scored a goal pretty quick.
“We were not settled enough in the way we want to play, think that’s not too surprising because after pre-season you always have that problem.”
Mac Allister will be deployed in the role once more on Saturday but the expectation will be that new signing Wataru Endo can step in once his work permit has been granted and he’s had time to train.
Beyond that, a younger, higher calibre No. 6 must still be the objective in the remaining weeks in the transfer window, and Klopp has stated the club is still “looking.”
For now, expect possession to take a steep turn in the right direction at Anfield.
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