It's fair to say the lads lost their stomach yesterday once Mane departed the field; it was like they thought he was packing his bags for AFCON again such was the way they shrunk into themselves.
But the boss didn't help matters and he lead this 'shrinking of the violets' by example, he really did. It's all well and good us accusing the players of doing an 'Arsenal' albeit with one man less, but Klopp also threw in the towel.
Salah the only player left in the attack with pace (put his lack of clinical finishing to a side for one moment), and who made his own space and had Otamendi on a yellow was removed from the game.
That would have set the mentality at HT for the lads, no doubt. As though it was an exercise in damage limitation but even if it was that too backfired.
Then we have Jürgen's body language
in the first half he was in his technical area living every moment of the game barking at his players. In the second half he was slumped in his seat as though he had accepted the consequences of the game and the impending defeat. I know I had, but then again I don't earn a seven digit salary and neither do I manage the team, but his demeanour as a leader wasn't encouraging. The lads played how he looked.
City did it the other week with ten men and managed to comeback yet when we did it, collectively from the manager downwards all our heads dropped. He told us to believe yet he clearly lost all belief yesterday in his players - and yes they would have still lost but they could have done it with pride if for nothing else.
« Last Edit: Sep 10, 2017 10:53:57 am by Beerbelly »
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