Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp may need to heed Sir Alex Ferguson advice

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could benefit from taking a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s book as he looks to curb the Reds’ on-pitch struggles as a matter of urgency. The Merseyside giants have endured a sub-par start to the campaign that went from bad to worse on Wednesday evening, with Napoli cruising to a 4-1 victory in their opening Champions League group stage match.

Liverpool were helpless to prevent Napoli from racing into a three-goal lead before the interval, with a fourth preceding Luis Diaz’s consolation goal shortly after the restart. Klopp will be desperate to improve Liverpool’s fortunes by masterminding a return to form over the coming weeks and it seems as though the German boss could benefit from listening to Ferguson’s advice in doing so.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville previously explained how Ferguson would go back to basics and simply aim to keep clean sheets when faced with the need to put things right due to a lacklustre run of results. This approach was based on the Scot’s belief that shutting out the opposition and trusting the forwards to score was always the best way to end losing streaks during his time in charge of the Red Devils.

“We always used to work on the theory, when we were playing badly and we were in a bad moment, that you keep your shape, keep a clean sheet and just one of them lot up front will score a goal,” said Neville on Instagram Live towards the end of last year, as reported by The Metro.

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“I know it sounds really, really simple but when you’re going through a difficult time you don’t really want coaches blurting loads of really high-end tactics to you and loads of nonsense. You just really want simple messages, football players want simple, clear messages.”

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will be able to return to winning ways in their next Premier League outing against Wolves on Saturday afternoon. They currently find themselves in seventh place after winning just two of their first six matches and will be fired up to bounce back from their humbling Champions League defeat at the hands of Napoli earlier this week.

Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher believes that his old club’s lack of intensity has played a major role in shaping their sub-par start to the season, especially with regards to the high-pressing style that Klopp has instilled into his players during his time in charge.

“We mentioned that before the game, this is a problem for Liverpool, the high line and that they aren’t actually getting pressure on the ball,” said Carragher in his role as a pundit on CBS Sports.

“The thing for me right now is that Liverpool play a high-risk game but they’re not pressing the ball to stop that high-risk game and it’s causing them the problem. It’s not a problem with how high the line is, it’s about being compact, being together.

“But when someone gets time on the ball, so often we say it’s too easy to get through Liverpool’s midfield. That didn’t happen before, so you could play that high line and be really compact, but if that’s not happening you have to adapt.”

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