EIt was the first game for Jürgen Klopp after the fuss over FIFA's blue card plans – and for the Liverpool FC team manager it was confirmation of his defensive stance against the innovation. “Imagine if the referee had had the blue card at his disposal,” he said after the 3-1 win against Burnley FC, “that would have been the Wild West.”
What the 56-year-old was referring to: Five players and both coaches, alongside Klopp Burnley's Vincent Kompany, saw yellow. “It was emotional,” said Klopp. “I have no idea why Vincent Kompany saw yellow. I lost control in one situation, so okay, show me yellow – as long as I don’t see a blue card and have to sit around somewhere for ten minutes.”
“It was really hard”
The innovation would provide for this, for example, for complaints or tactical fouls. Klopp was booked after complaining about an alleged foul on goalscorer Diogo Jota in the opposition penalty area. He had already stated before the game that he would reject the blue card.
League leaders Liverpool are two points ahead of defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League, who won 2-0 against Everton FC thanks to two goals from exceptional striker Erling Haaland. “It was really tough,” said Klopp about the 16th win in the 24th game of the season, “but the boys fought through and got three points.”
Meanwhile, team manager Pep Guardiola from English soccer champions Manchester City criticized the attitude of his players despite their sixth win in a row. “Our body language was bad in the first half, we complained the whole time,” said the former Bayern coach after the Citizens’ 2-0 win against Everton FC on Saturday: “That’s not possible.”
“If you want to give your best, you have to perform like that,” said Guardiola: “We were much more positive in the second half.” Star striker Erling Haaland only late on had the Premier League runners-up with two goals from the fear of losing a point redeemed. Previously, City had struggled against the low-lying “Toffees” for a long time.
“Yes, Erling is back”
Former Dortmund player Haaland took the lead in the top scorers list with goals 15 and 16 this season, ahead of Mohamed Salah from league leader Liverpool FC (14), who won 3-1 against Burnley FC. Haaland has now scored 52 goals in his first 50 league games in which the 23-year-old was a starter.
There was recognition from Guardiola for this: “Yes, Erling is back,” said the coach with a smile: “His finishes are incredible.” Haaland recently went 77 days without scoring due to an injury. Guardiola then highlighted the connection with Kevin De Bruyne, who provided the assist for the second goal: “They had a natural connection from day one, that's really something special.”
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