Jurgen Klopp was left frustrated after Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, with the hosts’ playacting at the top of his agenda.
The histrionics of PSG’s players was infuriating throughout, with endless time taken out of the game and harsh decisions made against Reds players by referee Szymon Marciniak.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Klopp vented his anger, saying Liverpool’s yellow card count makes them look thuggish:
I know that now the main headline will be ‘Klopp said’ but the number of interruptions in that game was just not cool.
Two times in a row we won the fair play award in England and tonight we look like butchers after the yellow cards we had.
It was clever of PSG, especially Neymar, but a lot of other players went down like it was really something serious and we were not that calm any more.
We were aggressive, and unfortunately negative aggression doesn’t help in football, we got rather frustrated and angry.
But we have to deal with it, that’s our job. If the ref lets that happen then we have to deal with it.
Liverpool deserved to lose at Parc des Princes, with the performance never up to scratch from minute one.
The antics of numerous PSG players did leave a sour taste, however, and it affected the rhythm of the Reds’ display.
They will now likely have to beat Napoli either 1-0 or by two goals at Anfield on December 11th, in order to reach the Champions League knockout stages.
Liverpool host Everton in the 232nd Merseyside derby on Sunday afternoon – representing the perfect opportunity to bounce back.
