It's my fault - klopp defends toothless Liverpool

 

Liverpool's 68-game unbeaten league run at Anfield brought to an end; Champions sit six points behind leaders Man Utd after failing to score in four Premier League games in a row for the first time in 21 years; Ashley Barnes' 100th league goal ends 46-year wait for Burnley win at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp tried to deflect scrutiny away from his misfiring Liverpool attack by insisting he was to blame for the champions' shock defeat to Burnley.

The Clarets were the only visiting side to take points off Liverpool during last season's title-winning campaign and went one better on Thursday as Ashley Barnes' penalty ended the Reds' 68-game unbeaten league run at Anfield.

Liverpool's first home league defeat since April 2017 was made all the more alarming by their failure to score in four consecutive Premier League games for the first time in 21 years, with seven hours and 18 minutes passing since they last found the net.

Klopp took full responsibility for the defeat, which extended Liverpool's winless run to five games, highlighting his failure to give his players the tools they needed to overcome a stubborn Burnley outfit.

"The game was impossible to lose, but we did," Klopp told Sky Sports. "That's my fault because it's my job to make sure the boys have the right feelings, the right amount of confidence and make the right decision.

That obviously didn't work out because we had the ball a lot, created some situations that were OK, but in the final moment or decision-making is not right at the moment, and that's the problem. 

Klopp added: "It's always my fault, the things that don't work are my fault, the things that do work are down to the players. Credit to the players because it's what they make of it.

"We have worked so long together now that if I make clear which movements make sense and will hurt the opponent and we don't do them, then I have to make it clearer. That's how it is."

Liverpool have taken just three points from a possible 15 and sit fourth in the table, six points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Old Trafford.

Finding solutions to Liverpool's attacking problems, though, is now top of the agenda for Klopp.