Jurgen Klopp has refused to blame goalkeeper Loris Karius for Liverpool's recent problems at the back, saying that the team as a whole need to take more responsibility for their defensive issues before he looks at the man between the sticks.
Defensive capitulations in consecutive weeks saw the Reds concede six goals against Bournemouth and West Ham, taking just a point from those two games as Chelsea stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
The Karius-Neville-Neville-Klopp-Carragher debacle is continuing to rumble on...
Here's what's been said: https://t.co/kExCQ8cfvz pic.twitter.com/WxR4Hx5ZrZ
Quoted by theMirrorafter his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, he said: "It only helps if we all do better. If I put a new goalkeeper in for example and we let them shoot from there and there, it doesn't change.We have to avoid situations like this as a team, and usually we do it well. That is why when we speak about our defence problems, I already knew this.
But of course we still concede goals, and then people then ask for other players.My job is to work with the players and make sure we have the right balance and consistency. Defending starts in offensive situations.�
Most Premier League errors leading to a goal this season:
J.Stones
L.Karius
G.Cahill
D.Randolph
D.Fletcher
Y.Cabaye
M.Stekelenburg (all 2) pic.twitter.com/SCsSX8NoZJ
When asked if he would back Karius to start against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, Klopp was evasive, saying:If we speak about defence, we can talk. If we speak about goalkeeper, we cannot talk. It's a special position.When you concede four at Bournemouth....that was bad defending.
You could see it. In general, the thing was: ˜Ah, we missed Matip, we missed the centre half'. Joel Matip would not have stopped that fourth goal. Would he have run from the six-yard box to stop the shot? No.It would have been exactly the same. We made mistakes, didn't feel comfortable, didn't push up (as a team). THAT is defending."
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