Jürgen Klopp has confirmed Simon Mignolet will start against Huddersfield Town on Saturday because the erratic display against Tottenham Hotspur was out of context with his recent Liverpool form.
The goalkeeper and the defender Dejan Lovren were widely criticised for errors in the 4-1 defeat at Wembley last Sunday, although Klopp insists Mignolet was at fault only for Spurs’ fourth goal and that was “the first mistake I can remember [from him] in the last few weeks”. He says he has given no thought to replacing Mignolet with Loris Karius against David Wagner’s team and claims the pair have been unfairly blamed for collective defensive failings.
Asked whether Mignolet would retain his place against Huddersfield, Klopp replied: “Yes. Absolutely.” He added: “Yes, Simon could have done better for fourth goal. Dejan, first goal, that was 100% collective [mistake]. Second goal: difficult to defend him afterwards but in the same situation again, 99 times out of 100 he will do it. Send him in again and he will do it [correctly]. So yes, difficult to defend [Lovren] but it was a personal mistake and these things happen. We don’t have to hide things like this but we don’t have to make things bigger.
“A lot of things were really collective. Yes, the second goal was individual while Simon knows with the fourth goal, when he is there, it would be nice if he could keep the ball a little more. But that was the first mistake I can remember in the last few weeks; that’s how it is. In our world, people go for him for that – the criticism was harsh but that is how it is. I don’t think for a second about changing this position.”
Klopp admits a second heavy Premier League defeat of the season has ensured “there is pressure, we cannot ignore it” and that Liverpool “need to win” against a Huddersfield team managed by his best friend. In the week Rhian Brewster rose to prominence with two hat-tricks for England at the under-17 World Cup, however, the Liverpool manager insisted there was no doubt he would be around to see the club’s young talents realise their potential.
“I will be here, 100%,” said Klopp, who is likely to be without Philippe Coutinho on Saturday because of an adductor strain. “I’m convinced I’ll be here when they come through. I got so many messages this week saying: ‘Don’t listen to the pundits.’ I had no idea what was said, but I can imagine.
“People think maybe I’m not the right one any more and stuff like this. Inside nobody thinks it. Not from the owners and not from me. We all want to do it the right way. OK, we can try again like two years ago and get a new manager but the problems are always the same.
“Obviously the teams are really good and you cannot be [immediately] better than them but we are on their level when we play them usually. Tottenham was the first time it didn’t work. We all know that even though the result at Manchester City looks shit, we were on their level. We’ve played a lot of good football against bus‑parking teams. It’s not finished. Now we go again about defending and players and talk about our mistakes in the summer. It makes absolutely no sense.”
