Gabby Agbonlahor claims Jurgen Klopp's inability to "keep his mouth shut" means his Liverpool side lacked their usual intensity.
The Reds saw their winning run come to an end as Aston Villa secured a point at Anfield, which serves as a major blow to their top four hopes, which could soon be over. Liverpool needed a Roberto Firmino effort to save them from defeat after what was a below par display.
Klopp observed from the stands as he was unable to take up his usual dugout spot due to a ban handed out by the FA. It comes as a result of his outburst following Liverpool's dramatic win over Tottenham, where the German took aim at referee Paul Tierney.
His absence coincided with a drop off from his team with Agbonlahor adamant that, had the Reds boss remained quiet, he could've been on the sidelines and ensured his team were at the level required.
He said on TalkSport : “Liverpool lacked intensity, they lacked creativity for at the least the first 70 minutes. That comes from Klopp, can’t keep his mouth shut. Gets a ban, he’s in the stands, he’s not on the sideline. Them players don’t put in that performance if Klopp is on that sideline, he wouldn’t allow it.
“Of course, Villa were outstanding. But, that is not a normal Liverpool performance. When you need your manager in such a big game on the sideline, he’s not there because he can’t keep his mouth shut.”
The Reds boss has never been afraid of shirking his words. He's previously bemoaned refereeing decisions in his post-match interviews. Recently he suggested that Tierney had a personal issue with him given their history, despite PGMOL adamant that he acted appropriately.
Klopp admitted after the draw that Liverpool were not good enough in certain areas as he said: "Our pressing was not good, you could see we wanted but the timing was wow, ‘Who is where?’ That was not helpful. We played in their cards, they had moments in the game and they are a good football team obviously. They get a penalty, score their goal."
The stalemate means Manchester United and Newcastle only need a point from their two remaining games to secure a spot in next season's Champions League with the Reds having to settle for Europe's secondary competition - which Klopp confessed they perhaps deserved.
He said: “I think the whole season is rather a season where we qualify for Europa League than for Champions League. We were for too long not good enough or ourselves."
