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JURGEN KLOPP RUBBISHES EXIT RUMOURS

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has denied that he needs a break and insisted his team will turn around their poor run of form.

Liverpool conceded three late goals on Saturday to lose 3-1 to Leicester City and could drop out of the top four if Chelsea avoid defeat against Newcastle United on Monday evening.

“I don’t need a break, I am full of energy,” Klopp said at a press conference on Monday, ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig in Hungary.

Liverpool have lost their last three Premier League matches, against Leicester, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively.

They have picked up just seven Premier League points in 2021 with their place in the top four under serious threat.

This has also been an incredibly difficult period for Klopp, who was unable to return to Germany for his mother’s funeral last week because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Germany has banned most travel from countries containing new variants of the virus, including the UK.

On Monday morning some Liverpool supporters made their support for Klopp clear by hanging a banner outside Anfield which read ‘Jurgen Klopp YNWA’, in reference to the club’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ anthem.

Ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig in Budapest on Tuesday, Klopp was asked about the banner left outside Anfield by supporters and rumours on social media that he could quit the club.

“I heard about both,” he said. “The banner was nice but not necessary. I don’t feel that I need special support in this moment or whatever.

“On the second thing, did I get the sack or did I leave by myself? Neither, nor. I don’t need a break. Look, the last thing I want to do is talk about private things in a press conference. But everyone knows yes that, privately, we’ve had a tough time.

“That wasn’t just for three weeks, it was a much longer time already. We always deal with it as a family 100 per cent. I’ve worked in football as a coach for 20 years so I can split things, I can switch one thing off. I don’t carry things around. If I’m private, I’m private, if it’s football then I’m here. Nobody has to worry about me or whatever.

“I might not look like it because the weather is not cool and my beard gets more and more grey, yes I don’t asleep a lot, that’s all true, but I’m full of energy, honestly.”

Liverpool take on Leipzig on Tuesday night in the Champions League Round of 16.

Ahead of the clash, Simon Hughes has profiled Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann, a talented young manager who may one day emulate Klopp.

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ALISSON, LIVERPOOL MISERY CONTINUES AS LIVERPOOL LOSE AT LEICESTER.

Alisson suffered another nightmare as Liverpool’s title defence was left hanging by a thread after a late collapse at Leicester.

The goalkeeper gifted Jamie Vardy a game-changing goal as the Foxes scored three times inside a dramatic final 14 minutes to clinch a 3-1 win.

Alisson, fresh from two huge gaffes against Manchester City, aided Liverpool’s late capitulation when he came and missed Youri Tielemans’ long pass and Vardy ran the ball in.

James Maddison had already levelled before Harvey Barnes struck to compound the visitors’ misery.

Mo Salah had given them a second-half lead but Jurgen Klopp’s side are 10 points behind leaders Manchester City – having played two games more – after a third straight defeat.

Vardy also missed two excellent chances when he headed at Alisson and hit the bar in the first half.

It was a stunning turnaround and the Foxes moved into second, six points ahead of Liverpool.

Klopp would have never envisaged such a collapse after a bright start, despite Maddison trying to lob Alisson from inside his own half.

Jordan Henderson’s raking 50-yard pass sent Salah clear of Ricardo Pereira yet the forward failed to get the ball under control as he burst into the area

Vardy lifted the ball over from an angle after Barnes picked him out and Liverpool’s injury worries continued when James Milner was forced off after just 17 minutes, Thiago replacing him.

It failed to dent the visitors’ momentum, though, and they continued to probe with Salah giving Pereira a difficult half.

The Egypt international skipped away and his cross was turned wide by Sadio Mane before Kasper Schmeichel produced a world-class save to deny Roberto Firmino’s header – although Henderson was flagged offside in the build up.

Leicester’s sloppiness with the ball aided their top-four rivals but they should have opened the scoring nine minutes before the break.

Barnes picked out Vardy in the area but, unmarked seven yards out, he headed straight at Alisson.

It was a chance the former England striker would usually take and he missed another golden one soon after.

Debutant Ozan Kabak’s slip allowed Maddison’s impudent flick to send the striker clear but his rising drive hit the bar.

For all their possession, Liverpool could have gone into the break two goals down but started the second half as they did the first, pinning the Foxes back.

Klopp’s side struggled to create clear openings but did come close after 57 minutes.

Pereira brought down Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 30-yard free kick clipped Vardy in the wall and bounced off the bar.

Leicester’s resolve looked like holding firm, with the returning Wilfred Ndidi quietly efficient, but Liverpool finally broke through after 67 minutes.

Alexander-Arnold found Firmino in the area and his cute turn teed up Salah to curl into the corner from 15 yards.

Liverpool looked on course for victory but collapsed in a frantic final 14 minutes.

First Leicester thought they had a penalty after Thiago brought down Barnes, only for VAR to rule the foul came outside the box.

It mattered little though as Maddison’s low free kick flashed straight in – although it was only given after a VAR check with Daniel Amartey ruled fractionally onside.

Three minutes later Alisson rushed out to Tielemans’ pass but clattered into Kabak instead to leave Vardy with a simple finish.

It got worse for the visitors with five minutes left when Barnes broke free on the left and fired past Alisson.

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CITY LOSS: KLOPP SAYS LIVERPOOL AFTER TOP FOUR

Jurgen Klopp says top four is now Liverpool’s ‘main target’ after suggesting Alisson’s blunders at Manchester City could have been down to cold feet.

The Liverpool goalkeeper twice passed straight to City players as Pep Guardiola’s side stormed to a 4-1 win at Anfield which puts them five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table and 10 points ahead of defending champions Liverpool, with a game in hand on both.

Liverpool currently sit fourth, one point ahead of West Ham and Klopp accepts his priority is now to ensure his side qualify for next season’s Champions League, with a successful title defence looking out of reach.

“That is of course our main target, that is clear,” Klopp said when asked about a top-four finish. “We will try everything.

“There is enough games to play to secure that – but we have to win games and tonight we didn’t.”

On Alisson’s errors, which allowed City to add their crucial second and third goals through Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, Klopp said: “You cannot hide them.

“It’s two [instances] where we didn’t give him a lot of options, especially around the first one. I think the second one, yeah, he just mis-hit the ball.

“I don’t know, it’s not a real explanation for it but maybe he had cold feet or something. It sounds funny but could be. But there’s still the opportunity to kick it in the stands.

“But Ali has saved our life plenty of times, no doubt about that, and tonight he made two mistakes and that’s how it is.”

Despite the mistakes and impact of the defeat on Liverpool’s hopes of winning back-to-back Premier League titles, Klopp insisted he was happy with the performance of his team.

He felt his side could have gone on to win when Mohamed Salah’s penalty cancelled out Gundogan’s opener and believes Liverpool would have been closer to City if they’d been at that level throughout the season.

“If you lose 4-1 it is of course not our day but a big part of the game was a brilliant game from my side,” he said.

“We played really good football. I really liked it. In the first half we played really good football. Against City it doesn’t mean you are 2-0 or 3-0 up it only means you’re in the game. I’m not sure what the possession was but it was for sure not what it’s like usually for City.

“Start of the second half, City changed their system slightly to a 4-4-2. It’s a little adaptation in the end but in that start of the second half we didn’t give enough options to play and gave the first goal away.

“They scored that goal, we scored the equaliser, which in that moment it looked like the game could now go in our direction. We looked really good again.

“We make two massive mistakes, that’s clear. Everybody saw them, they used them. 3-1 down in a game like this is really tough to take and then [Phil] Foden with a genius situation where he scores the fourth goal.

“The performance was good most of the time. Really, really good, on a high level. If we’d played more often like tonight, we would not be 10 points behind City.

“The goals, we made massive mistakes. Against each team it is a problem, against City it’s a killer. And that’s why we lost the game.”

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HORROR DAY FOR ALLISON BECKER AS CITY THRASH LIVERPOOL AT ANFIELD

Liverpool’s title defence appears to have ended at the feet of goalkeeper Alisson Becker as two awful errors gifted Manchester City a 4-1 victory at Anfield.

With the match evenly-poised at 1-1 with 17 minutes remaining the Brazil international’s errant passing presented the league leaders with two goals – including Raheem Sterling’s first at Anfield since leaving in 2015.

Alisson was back in the team after missing the midweek defeat to Brighton with illness but he will be sick when he watches back his part in City’s first victory on this ground since 2003 and only their second in 34 visits.

Mohamed Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty – ending a home goal drought nine minutes short of seven hours – had cancelled out the opener from Ilkay Gundogan, who redeemed himself after missing from the spot in the first half.

Alisson then scuffed a pass straight to Phil Foden, who drove forward and crossed for Gundogan to make it nine goals in his last 11 league matches.

Worse was to follow as the Brazilian then repeated the error even closer to goal with Bernardo Silva teeing up Sterling to nod home his 100th goal for Pep Guardiola, with Foden adding the finishing touches late on.

Victory extended City’s winning run to 14 matches and left Liverpool 10 points beind having played one match more and even in this season of surprises a comeback from that position seems unlikely.

It meant Gundogan’s penalty miss late in the first half, City’s third this season and their third in four attempts in this fixture – and Guardiola kicking a bucket in frustration were distant memories.

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LIVERPOOL TO BE DENIED PLAYING LEIPZIG UCL TIE IN GERMANY

Liverpool will not be allowed to play their Champions League round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig in Germany after being denied entry to the country.

The German government has banned all arrivals from countries affected by new coronavirus variants until February 17, the day after Liverpool were due in Leipzig, and an application for special permission for them to travel has been denied.

A statement from the German interior ministry, reported in local media, said: “The federal police has told the RB Leipzig club today that the circumstances of the given case do not meet the requirements for an exemption.”

UEFA has remained in touch with both clubs and the German Football Association, which has in turn been in contact with the German government.

Under such circumstances, Champions League regulations allow for a match to be moved to a neutral venue or for fixtures to be reversed.

However, the latter is not considered an option as Leipzig players would need to quarantine for 10 days upon their return from Liverpool under the current rules.

As it stands, the second leg is scheduled to take place at Anfield on March 10, by which point it is hoped restrictions will have been eased.

UEFA’s regulations put the onus on Leipzig to put forward proposals for an alternative venue and pay the associated costs of rearranging the game.

The club has until February 8 to come up with a solution or they could run the risk of a 3-0 forfeit.

A delay is also a possibility, with UEFA having said that all last-16 games must have been decided by April 2.

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ALZATE EARNS BRIGHTON MEMORABLE WIN AT ANFIELD.

Steven Alzate’s second-half goal secured a first league win for Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield since 1982 that dealt a blow to Liverpool’s title defence.

Mohamed Salah struck a shot over early on after a superb through-ball by Jordan Henderson.

But the champions were largely subdued while Brighton impressed, with Neal Maupay and Dan Burn both going close.

On 56 minutes, Alzate gave Brighton a deserved lead. Burn headed back across goal and Alzate combined with Leandro Trossard to steer the ball into the net.

A confident Brighton threatened to double their lead through chances for Trossard, Burn and Maupay.

Roberto Firmino’s shot high and wide summed up the night for Liverpool, who suffered a second successive home defeat.

They are fourth on 40 points, seven behind leaders Manchester City, having played a match more.

Brighton are 15th with 24 points.

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IHEANACHO SCORES AS LEICESTER EDGE FULHAM AT CRAVEN COTTAGE.

Leicester City moved ahead of champions Liverpool in the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Kelechi Iheanacho headed in James Maddison’s pinpoint cross to give Leicester the lead after 17 minutes.

Kasper Schmeichel then tipped Tosin Adarabioyo’s powerful header over the bar to deny Fulham an equaliser before James Justin doubled the Foxes’ lead shortly before half-time.

The defender rounded Alphonse Areola before tucking in from close range for his second goal of the season.

Substitute Ivan Cavaleiro fired narrowly wide shortly after the restart and Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s effort found the side-netting as Fulham tried in vain to mount a comeback.

The result moves Leicester into third, two points ahead of Liverpool, who lost 1-0 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Fulham stay 18th, seven points from safety, with 17 matches to play.

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VAN DIJK TO MISS REST OF THE SEASON – KLOPP

Jürgen Klopp today clarified that Virgil van Dijk is unlikely to play again in 2020-21.

The Liverpool No.4 has been sidelined with a knee ligament injury, which required surgery, since mid-October and is undergoing a rehabilitation programme.

At Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, Klopp was asked if Van Dijk will be included in the Reds’ updated Premier League squad list when it is submitted later this week.

“Whatever happens, I think we have space for Virgil on the Champions League list. I think he was on the Premier League list. Nobody told me I have to change something with that. If we have space in the Champions League list then Virgil will be on the list,” said the boss.

“In the moment, I don’t know where these things are coming from – nobody really, no doctor, nobody really told me there’s a chance for Virgil to play in this season again.

“I don’t want to say that’s absolutely impossible but it’s not likely. It’s not likely. We don’t have to discuss these things really.

“If we have space we would put them all on, even when all the medical people tell us there’s no chance. We put them on because we believe in miracles from time to time.

“But if there’s no place then we have to consider these kind of things and say, ‘The chance is not too big so we have to make the decision.’ But if they are on the list then it’s only because we hope for nearly a miracle. That’s it.”

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LIVERPOOL SEAL BEN DAVIES ON A LONG TERM SIGNING

Liverpool have completed the signing of Ben Davies from Preston North End on a long-term contract.

The 25-year-old centre-back has put pen to paper on a deal with the Reds on deadline day to tie up his transfer from the Championship club and bolster Jürgen Klopp’s defensive ranks.

Davies told Liverpoolfc.com during his first interview at Anfield: “I’m obviously delighted to be here.

“It’s a huge opportunity. Obviously it came as a bit of a surprise when it first came but once you start to get your head around it, the opportunity that is in front of me is incredible. I’d be silly to not make the most of it and learn off the players [at the club].

“I’ve never actually been to Anfield and I haven’t had a look around yet. I had a quick look out and had a look at the pitch and it looks like carpet, which obviously you’d expect.

“I haven’t actually walked out of the tunnel yet, so I’m looking forward to that. Just to be in this kind of atmosphere is brilliant.”

Davies graduated through the academy ranks at Preston and went on to represent them on 145 occasions, scoring two goals, following his senior debut in January 2013.

The Englishman, who will take the vacant No.28 shirt at Liverpool, claimed Preston’s 2019 Player of the Year award for his form.

“I want to come in and play games to start with, I want to get my foot in the door and make myself a Premier League player rather than obviously a Championship player. And then take it from there really,” he said.

“I know we’ve got some top players here and players I can certainly learn from. Once you get your foot in the door then you’re here as well. Hopefully I can take my chance and then move forward with it.

“I’m looking forward to coming in and playing in front of everyone and showing everyone what I can do. I’m sure a lot of fans and people don’t know [me], or haven’t even seen me play.

“It’s definitely an exciting time and I think they’ll quite enjoy watching me when I’m playing well.”

Davies graduated through the academy ranks at Preston and went on to represent them on 145 occasions, scoring two goals, following his senior debut in January 2013.

The Englishman, who will take the vacant No.28 shirt at Liverpool, claimed Preston’s 2019 Player of the Year award for his form.

“I want to come in and play games to start with, I want to get my foot in the door and make myself a Premier League player rather than obviously a Championship player. And then take it from there really,” he said.

“I know we’ve got some top players here and players I can certainly learn from. Once you get your foot in the door then you’re here as well. Hopefully I can take my chance and then move forward with it.

“I’m looking forward to coming in and playing in front of everyone and showing everyone what I can do. I’m sure a lot of fans and people don’t know [me], or haven’t even seen me play.

“It’s definitely an exciting time and I think they’ll quite enjoy watching me when I’m playing well.”

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LIVERPOOL COMPLETE LOAN DEAL FOR OZAN KABAK

Liverpool have completed the transfer of Ozan Kabak from Schalke 04 on loan until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.

The 20-year-old defender will spend the remainder of 2020-21 with the Reds after he put pen to paper on the deal on deadline day.

Kabak completed the formalities of the switch in Germany and will travel to Merseyside later this week.

The Turkey international arrives at Anfield after two years in the Bundesliga, where he represented VfB Stuttgart before joining Schalke in July 2019.

Prior to moving to Germany, Kabak came through the ranks at Galatasaray, where he gained Champions League experience with four appearances in the tournament in 2018-19.

On the international front, he has earned seven caps for Turkey to date.

He will wear No.19 for Liverpool.