Roy Keane hit out at Liverpool after their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in February 2021, saying the Reds were “making excuses” and calling them “bad champions” – much to the chagrin of Jurgen Klopp.
If Jürgen Klopp disagrees, the Liverpool manager is not afraid to voice his opinion.
Whether it’s press conferences, TV interviews, in-house club videos or rival managers live, the Kop boss doesn’t mind showing off. Neither did Manchester United legend Roy Keane.
So when Keane came on for Manchester City at Anfield in February 2021 against then Premier League champions Liverpool after a 4-1 defeat, nobody expected Klopp to lay it down.
Keane destroyed Liverpool and Klopp on Sky Sports after the match. He criticized the German for making excuses, branded Liverpool “bad champions” and accused the Reds of being carried away by their own hype.
“We spoke before the game – they made a lot of excuses,” said Keane. – For me they were bad masters.
“You can lose a game of football but… I don’t understand this group. Watching them, Brighton were comfortable even during the week, you can win in the game – you’re there to win. But I don’t see it.
“I think maybe they believed the hype of the last year or two. We talked about some relegation but they play a big team in Liverpool. Almost if they won the league last year and got the big one, believe their own hype that they will win teams
“I think when you’ve won the league title, the next challenge is ‘Can we do it again’. I never got the impression from this team/group, their interviews or even last year’s manager when they won it that they said “what’s the next step for Liverpool?”. No. We almost enjoy it.
“Obviously it’s been a long wait, 30 years, but I’ve never heard any player come out and say, ‘I want to do it again.’ That’s the key. Now they’re talking about trying to get to the top four. … … won the league last year. Are we aiming for the top four now?
“They are a huge club. They have to accept failures [Virgil van Dijk]. It is not part of the game. If the players were fit all the time, it would be amazing. You can look at Man City and say they are missing two of their best players.
“They came to Liverpool – who have a strong squad, I know they are missing two central midfielders, but they still had the best attacking players on the pitch. [They] still had the best goalkeeper available, they still had international players . And after the game I think Klopp said the goalkeeper had cold feet!”
Klopp’s response came soon after. But it wasn’t the kind of fiery rejection you’d expect from a German. You couldn’t miss his point though.
“It’s hit again!” he stated. “If you haven’t seen a really good football team win football games again, I don’t know exactly. It really hurt today, but here we go again.
“If you’re only really united when we’re winning, there’s something wrong with you. Here we go again. It’s a difficult moment in a difficult season – I saw a lot of good tonight and we have to go again and again.”
And maybe, in hindsight, Klopp was right about that day, not Keane.
Liverpool rose from their mid-table nightmare after that knockout, finishing third in the Premier League for the 2020–21 season. Considering where they were, that was more than respectable.
The following season saw them win both domestic cups, reach the Champions League final – narrowly losing to Real Madrid – and finish one point behind champions Manchester City on 92 points, with just two defeats all season. They “went again”.
Last season undoubtedly saw relegation, but now, after a summer refresh, the new-look side look to be back in title contention.
