Klopp hits nail on the head as Liverpool young guns fail to impress in Europe

15 December 2023 , 05:00

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Klopp hits nail on the head as Liverpool young guns fail to impress in Europe

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp refused to blame his young guns for their 2-1 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League.

With Liverpool's spot in the knockouts already secure, Klopp named a much-changed side with six players aged 20 or younger getting the chance to impress. And while they were unable to beat a USG side that is currently top of the Belgian Pro League, Klopp took positives from the defeat.

"I mixed up the team completely, so I think the changes we made, the amount of changes, were too much for rhythm," he said. "We needed to grow into the game. I am really happy that happened in the second half more and more and that we gave it a game, a proper game in the end.

"Before that, they gave us possession, won the balls on counter-attack and it was really tricky, to be honest. It was pretty intense on a really difficult pitch. It was not great and you saw how intense it was, a couple of players had cramps for Union.

"So, in the end we could have scored the equaliser and it would have been nice, we would have loved to have got the point here. For some it was a really important experience and for others good for rhythm."

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Jarell Quansah scored his first goal for Liverpool to cancel out Mohamed Amoura's opener but the Reds soon fell behind to a strike from Cameron Puertas before the break. And despite turning to some more experienced players from the bench, Liverpool couldn't find a second leveller.

Klopp added: "I saw good performances and, of course, as a team it is not a fair assessment if I say now they are top of the table in Belgium and we come here, bring kids – altogether that's really difficult. But I thought we gave it a go and that's OK for me.

"I would never judge a player after a game like this and tell, 'OK, he's obviously not good enough' or whatever. I know how good they are because I see them every day in training and tonight is an important experience."

Liverpool were defeated 2-1 by Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels (Getty Images)

Klopp did, however, single out 20-year-old defenders Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah for praise. "Conor is a top player, I like him a lot. His attitude is outstanding, he's a real fighter," he added.

"I think we all know against Crystal Palace that he [Quansah] played not a bad game against Palace but if you are then that involved in kind of the penalty, a strange one, but we are involved, that's not cool.

"And I am really happy that he could see the other side of the metal and score this goal today. So, really happy for him."

Matthew Cooper