Jurgen Klopp frustrated Liverpool stars failed to pass to Takumi Minamino in Chelsea defeat

Minamino was a bright spark for Liverpool (Picture: Getty)



Jurgen Klopp was frustrated his Liverpool players failed to find Takumi Minamino more often in his side’s defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup.

The Liverpool boss tried to play down the loss, as the Reds slumped to their second defeat in a row for the first time this season.



Klopp insisted he was happy with the performance, but conceded right-back Neco Williams was one of the players who should have picked out Minamino more in the game.

He said: ‘Takumi (Minamino) had a really good game. We could have used him much more often.


‘If Neco (Williams) sees him once or twice he was completely free at the edge [of the box], he shot the cross more or less. If he’d seen him it would have helped.’

‘Losing 2-0 is not cool, but in this case it is relatively easy to explain – we made two massive mistakes around the goals,’ Klopp added.

‘Adrian made a super save a second or two seconds before and then this ball, a really good shot from Willian and he could not make that save.


‘But before that we lost the ball and that’s a problem. It was not the biggest shock because it is football.

‘I liked the reaction, liked the way we played, some good stuff, it was a super-intense game and both teams were really running like mad.

‘It was clear it would be difficult, but we had our moments, we had good chances, especially the one where I don’t know who saved the balls – a defender or the goalie or whatever – when we shot three or four times.

‘We conceded a second one and that didn’t help obviously and it was then a bit more difficult to take.

‘Chelsea defended with all they had, threw the bodies in, really, physical.

‘We couldn’t score, they couldn’t score and so the game finished with 2-0 and we are out of the competition, which is the opposite of what we wanted.