Jurgen Klopp gave a few excuses for his team’s drab 0-0 draw with Southampton that left their top four status still in question.
The Reds saw a James Milner penalty saved, but had few other chances on net, with Fraser Forster doing the business between the sticks to keep them out.
Klopp was particularly unhappy with the state of the Anfield pitch, although he fell short of throwing his grounds crew under the bus.
“I know nobody wants to hear it but I am brave enough to say it - the pitch was really dry [with] the wind and it was difficult,” Klopp said in his post-match press conference. “You could see it, a lot of passes you thought ‘why are they playing this?’ but it was difficult.”
[ RECAP: Liverpool draws 0-0 with Southampton ]
“In a possession game, you need to have if possible, in a home game especially, the best circumstances. Today we couldn’t have this. That’s nobody’s fault, it’s only a description.”
To be fair, Milner also briefly mentioned the pitch condition after the match, calling the field “a bit sticky.”
Klopp was also upset that the headset for fourth official Anthony Taylor failed, leaving the referee Bobby Madley on his own on the pitch without help from the sidelines. “We had three, four situations which the fourth official saw saw exactly like we did. For example, the shot from Emre [Can] was a clear corner but the headset didn’t work anymore and I thought maybe he could have given another sign. It was a clear corner but that’s how it is. It was very emotional as you can imagine.”
The German manager was incredibly animated throughout the match, throwing water bottles and screaming constantly. He was clearly incensed with the particular decision he referenced in his quotes, pointing emphatically at the fourth official when the corner was not given, as if to say the fourth official agreed but could not communicate it to the referee.