Three mistakes Klopp made vs Man City as Liverpool suffer thrashing at Anfield

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Liverpool suffered a crushing blow to their hopes of retaining the Premier League title with a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.

Ilkay Gundogan missed a first-half penalty before opening the scoring four minutes into the second period.

Mohamed Salah equalised from the penalty spot, but a mistake from Reds goalkeeper Allison saw Gundogan first put City back in front before goals from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden made sure of the win.

Jurgen Klopp made four changes to his side after losing to Brighton in midweek, but the refresh in personnel failed to have the desired effect, with the Reds now 10 points behind City.

We take a look at three Klopp mistakes which led to Liverpool's defeat.

Fabinho’s return

Klopp recalled the Brazilian to the heart of his defence in place of Nat Phillips, and the decision proved to be the wrong one.

Phillips has been impressive in recent weeks alongside Jordan Henderson, but Klopp opted for the experience of Fabinho at the back against City’s fearsome attack.

But Fabinho did not impress at Anfield, conceding a first-half penalty for tripping Sterling, which Gundogan proceeded to blaze over the bar.

Despite the Reds signing Ben Davies and Ozan Kazak on transfer deadline day, Klopp decided to select two midfielders at centre back, a decision that proved costly.

Trusting Trent

Klopp opted to keep Trent Alexander-Arnold in his starting line-up for the clash with City.

Alexander-Arnold has come under fire for a dip in form in recent Premier League matches, and he did nothing to regain the confidence of Liverpool fans.

The right-back was regularly targeted by City, with much of their attacks coming down Alexander-Arnold’s side. That included both the first-half penalty and Gundogan’s goal, with pundit Gary Neville criticising the 22-year-old in commentary.

“He’s too upright and got to jockey more, sticking a leg out is not going to work against that type of forward,” Neville said.

Reacting to City's change in tactics

After a tepid first-half City manager Pep Guardiola changed his tactics at half-time, pivoting to a 4-4-2 formation.

That change reaped immediate benefits, with Gundogan opening the scoring four minutes into the second period.

Klopp appeared to take time to react to that change in tactics and by that time, the visitors had already found the back of the net.

City's switch in formation allowed them to press higher up the pitch, leading to Allison giving the ball away for both the visitors' second and third goals.

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  • Jurgen Klopp
  • Pep Guardiola
  • Premier League
  • Manchester City FC
  • Liverpool FC

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