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JURGEN KLOPP ISSUES OUT DEFENSIVE WARNING AFTER TWO HORROR DEFEATS

After two horror defeat which came from the hands of bottom league Swansea and  Westbrom Albion in the FA cup, Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool players that they simply must do better after familiar defensive errors led to their elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Baggies.

brace from Jay Rodriguez and Joel Matip own goal gave Alan Pardew’s visitors a 3-2 fourth round victory at Anfield, with Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah responding for the hosts.

That, however, only tells half the story of an extraordinary game dominated by the use of VAR, the new video technology system currently being trialled in English football’s cup competitions.

Referee Craig Pawson referred to VAR for three key first-half decisions - ultimately ruling out one West Bromwich goal, delaying another and awarding a Liverpool penalty, which was then missed by Firmino.

While all three decisions were proved to be correct, the time it took to reach them - nearing eight minutes in total - and the confusion caused led to much post-match debate about the pros and cons of the new system.

Liverpool could hardly blame VAR’s problems for their defeat, though. They were undone by the same old defensive frailties that have blighted the club in recent years rather than any new-fangled technology.

Klopp recognised as much while speaking after the final whistle and, though often protective of his players in the wake of a defeat, he simply could not hide his frustration with the performance he had witnessed.

“It's not allowed to concede goals like we conceded tonight. That's it,” the Liverpool manager said, having seen his midfield bypassed for both Rodriguez strikes, while Matip’s own goal ultimately proved decisive.

“In a lot of other moments, you saw that we are still in a good moment. We are able to do this or that, but of course under the pressure of being 3-1 down in a cup game, you will never be able to play your best football.

“We have to avoid these things, 100 per cent. The mistake was so obvious that these mistakes are to absorb, that's not a problem, but now we have the feeling that something is wrong.”

The defeat was Liverpool’s second in the space of a week after last Monday’s 1-0 reverse at Swansea City but also came not long after the impressive victory over league leaders Manchester City, which Klopp hoped would provide a platform for the rest of the season.

“I don't know exactly how long it is but maybe 10 days ago we were here talking about City, one of the best football games we were a part of,” Klopp noted, before insisting that complacency had not set in among his squad after that result.