Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool title defence is over: ‘I don’t think we can close the gap’

POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Tom Doyle13 February 2021

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he believes the gap between Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City is now too wide for the champions to defend their title.

Liverpool lost 3-1 at Leicester City on Saturday to leave themselves 10 points behind Man City, who also hold two games in hand over the Reds.

Alisson's mistake, when he raced out of his goal and collided with Ozan Kabak, allowed Jamie Vardy to put Leicester ahead with nine minutes left.

James Maddison's free-kick had levelled just three minutes earlier after Mo Salah gave Liverpool a second-half lead.

Harvey Barnes made it 3-1 with five minutes remaining - lifting Leicester into second - and Klopp conceded the title.

"Yes. I don't think we can close the gap," he said after a third straight League defeat.

"We have to win football games and big parts of the football were really good. We have to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings.

"Today we didn't do that. The rest of the game was really good. First we have to perform again, results are massively related to the performance.

"We are not worrying about the title, we are not silly.

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

"With the majority of the game I agree it was a really good game. It's not easy to dominate Leicester in the way we dominated.

"We scored a great goal but conceded a strange one and I think it's offside and the 2-1 is a misunderstanding.

"That had too big an impact on the game. We had to show a different reaction and the third we gave away too easily."

Additional reporting by PA.

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