Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s pointed "Championship" jibe at West Brom

Liverpool head to the Hawthorns to face West Brom today, with eeries resemblances to their last visit to the stadium.

Back in 2018, Jurgen Klopp’s side made the trip to the Black Country needing results to secure a top four finish, days after Manchester City had been crowned Premier League champions.

Like this weekend, the hosts started the game knowing that a return to the Championship is on the cards.

On that occasion, relegation hadn’t been quite confirmed, thanks to a remarkable run of form under Darren Moore – but were rock bottom.

And for 79 minutes, the game went exactly according to the script with goals from Danny Ings and Mohamed Salah putting the Reds firmly in control with less than 15 minutes to go.

However, goals from Jake Livermore and a late Salomon Rondon header earned the Baggies what Klopp described as a “useless” point.

The German was visibly furious with his team’s late collapse and took aim at his opponents, aiming a dig about their imminent.

“Useless comeback,” he said of West Brom’s late double. “I don’t think that point will help West Brom massively, it is a complete waste of points: they don’t need it, we would have needed it.

“They are happy now, we are not happy. We stay in the league, they don’t stay in the league – it is a strange situation.”

Klopp doubled down on those insults, suggesting West Brom decided to not water their pitch as they had no intention of playing on the floor.

“I was not happy with the pitch,” he said, before he being asked by Sky Sports if it really made a difference: You’ve proved you have never played football obviously. It makes a massive difference.

“If the pitch is dry you can’t really pass the ball three or four yards, for all teams in the world – if they play football, not like West Brom when the ball is constantly in the air, you don’t need a wet pitch.

“That’s how it is though, they can play football next season on a dry pitch in the Championship.”

Had there been home fans in attendance, it is likely the Liverpool boss would have been given a hostile reception.

He will hope history doesn’t repeat itself, particularly after this era of Albion earned a point at Anfield in December.

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