Liverpool’s Klopp ‘can’t imagine title race’ after Burnley loss

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp called his side’s Premier League loss to Burnley on Thursday a “massive punch to the face” and downplayed the Reds’ chances of staying in the title race.

Burnley knocked out Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, ending their 68-game unbeaten streak at home in the Premier League. The defeat brought Liverpool six points behind Manchester United at the top of the table, but more ominously marked the fourth game in a row in which the defending champions failed to score.

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Klopp didn’t mince words after the game, telling Match of the Day that the loss – thanks to a penalty from Ashley Barnes in the 83rd minute – was particularly hard to digest.

“Everything, all the English words, a massive, massive punch in the face or whatever,” Klopp said of the loss. “It’s my responsibility, that’s the easy explanation. We had the ball a lot, created it and didn’t finish the situations. It keeps the game open and then they get the penalty – Alisson told me that he hadn’t touched him, but I never saw him again.

“These are bad decisions right now, three crosses into the box, we tried to find a player, no it’s my job to make sure the boys are in the right position, that they feel good .

“It’s a difficult question, not easy to explain. These boys are not the type [people] after a 7-0 to think we’ll go like this. They worked hard tonight and it didn’t happen. If something doesn’t work, you need to try harder, more often, for longer. It was not easy to lose this game and we did it. “

Klopp added that the Reds had no one to fault themselves, and said all solutions will come from within the squad.

“It’s not about blaming, we have to work things out together and we will. In football you don’t have a lot of time. We’ve tried a lot, at times the good things and others not This is the problem You have to break the wall down by trying, in a good mood.

“We can’t imagine the title race just yet.”

Liverpool will be next in action on Sunday when they visit Manchester United for an FA Cup fourth round match. They will then play Tottenham in the league four days later in London.