Klopp Staying the Course with Moreno, Receives Backing After Poor Arsenal Display
Despite having quite a bit of a shocker against Arsenal on Sunday, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has reportedly given up on replacing fullback Alberto Moreno this summer and will instead stay the course with the Spaniard for the time being — a decision that’s being backed by a man who knows a thing or two about defending.
“I do feel for Moreno at times and I think it goes back to a time a few years ago when he was used more as a wing-back than a full-back. Maybe that’s slightly tripped him a little way,” mused Reds legend Alan Kennedy. “He gets slightly caught out of position and what you have got to do is be on your toes all the time and sometimes maybe a lapse in concentration means that you don’t do the job you set out to do,” added the European Cup winner before switching from reassuring the Spaniard to warning him. “Moreno can’t afford to do that again. Hopefully, the player is told about the situation and that the manager may have to delve into the transfer market to bring in somebody else,” continued the 61- year old. “But at the moment and in the way the back four and everyone else is playing, let’s leave it as it is and hopefully it can right itself. But if it doesn’t right itself soon then the manager is going to have to make changes.”
If Liverpool showed on the weekend that the summer break hasn’t dampened their goal scoring prowess, they also gave us a stark reminder that they haven’t forgot how to concede them either. Their defensive woes have been a massive talking point over the last couple of years and though Klopp has made a number of additions over the past two months with defensive duo Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan joining new ‘keeper Loris Karius, who is currently recovering from a broken hand, the ship didn’t look all too steady on Sunday — that is, unless you were watching the same game as Simon Mignolet.
“I don’t think it was our mistakes which led to the goals being conceded. I thought we defended really well, just like we did against Barcelona at Wembley,” said the Belgian ‘keeper, who saved Theo Walcott’s penalty only moments before he atoned for his mistake by lashing in Arsenal’s first on the back of yet another Moreno error. “For the first goal we were a bit under the cosh and the second goal was unfortunate — a deflection we couldn’t have done anything about. The third goal was a set-piece where they took the free kick early and we weren’t quite organised,” explained the Reds shot-stopper. “When we made it 4-1 we needed to make sure we didn’t concede but one goal can change a game. That’s what happened with the deflection. The crowd got behind them again and they got a boost from that. But we kept our heads and got back to playing at the level we were at in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.”