Liverpool did not play well for at least 45 minutes at home to Manchester City, and Jurgen Klopp said it wasn’t about halftime adjustments unless you count adjusting to the actual game plan.
“We didn’t change anything in the second half, we just reminded the boys what we actually wanted them to do,” Klopp said on the Anfield turf with NBC’s broadcast crew of Arlo White, Graeme Le Saux, and Lee Dixon.
The interview was almost as fun as the 2-2 draw itself, as Klopp actually growled in disappointment when describing his reaction to the first half, admitted that his team wasn’t good enough to get all three points, and said James Milner should’ve been sent off for a second yellow card.
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“The first half is [growls in disappointment]. What we missed in the first half completely was the extra pass,” Klopp said. “The second half was the game everybody expected from the beginning. Even with all the experience we go through over the years, you can still get something you wouldn’t have expected. To play that little amount of football, it’s like wow, why would you do that?”
Klopp also lavished praise on Liverpool and for James Milner’s resilience after a bad first half led to a strong start to the second.
But he also knows Milner should’ve been given a second yellow card, and laughed in acknowledging that.
“If you want to play fullback, don’t start against City,” Klopp said. “We took him off and I only saw Pep’s reaction [to Milner’s foul on Bernardo Silva]. I didn’t see it I only saw something going down, but it was a clear (second yellow).”
