Jurgen Klopp picks his side as he wades into Chelsea "bottle jobs" debate

28 February 2024 , 08:54

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Jurgen Klopp has hit back at Gary Neville's Chelsea criticism (Image: Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp claims he does not understand Gary Neville's "bottle jobs" jibe at Chelsea.

The Manchester United icon tore into the Blues following their Carabao Cup final defeat by Liverpool at the weekend. He labelled them as "blue billion-pound bottle jobs" in the aftermath of their Wembley reverse.

Chelsea had a great chance to lift their first domestic trophy since 2018 against a Liverpool side that was beset by injuries. Despite creating several chances, they weren't able to find the target before Virgil van Dijk's winner.

Klopp has given his view on the claim that Chelsea are bottlers and suggests that it is unfair to paint the Blues with that brush. Speaking ahead of his side's FA Cup clash with Southampton, the German said: "I understand that people have to talk about it, but I was in the other seat as well, losing a final.

"And people say a lot of things about you that you don’t like to hear. In my case, some of them were true, some were not true, just guessing what might have happened.

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"I'm the one who knows what it's like to lose five or six finals in a row. I can imagine how it was for Chelsea, everybody tells you, 'By the way, you lost the last five and that's a new record' – it's not nice I really felt for them.

"They didn't deserve to get all the blame [because] they played a really good football game, in a final where nobody plays their absolute best football. You just have to beat the opponent, and that's what we did. That's why this 'bottling' thing is really not mine. I really don't understand it.

Chelsea were edged out by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final (Getty Images)

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"They wanted it badly and didn’t get it, and I saw in the faces of the players and Poch [Pochettino] after the game that it felt horrible. I don’t think anybody deserves these kind of feelings but in finals it is like that, that one feels like that and the other one is happier. Tricky, but it is the world we are living in."

Away from the League Cup final defeat, Chelsea are currently enduring a poor season under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues sit 11th in the Premier League and already 17 points behind the Champions League places.

Chelsea could yet have another chance to lift silverware this season. The London side are still in the FA Cup and take on Championship promotion chasers Leeds in the fifth round.

Chelsea could still renew rivalries with Liverpool should they progress past Daniel Farke’s men. Liverpool are set to face Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Anfield.

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Daniel Orme