Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he cannot explain the reasons behind his side's slow start in matches this season. The Red would sit inside the bottom three alongside Leeds United and Bournemouth if games ended after 45 minutes.
Liverpool have conceded the first goal in seven of their 11 Premier League matches so far, a complete contrast to that of the last few seasons when they were renowned for their fast starts in games. Leeds have an identical record to Liverpool when it comes to conceding the first goal, though it would be fair to say theirs is down to their inability to take chances, rather than starting slowly.
If a similar scenario happens this evening where Liverpool begin the match off the pace, then Leeds simply must capitalise if they are to come away with a positive result. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Klopp explained that 'being 1-0 down all the time' is one of the reasons for their inconsistent start to the campaign, but claims it is something he cannot put his finger on.
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Via Liverpoolfc.com, he said: "I don’t know what it tells us about Bournemouth and Leeds to be honest. But our story, it's about this; being 1-0 down all the time. We still get asked about this thing, it didn't happen now always, but it happened from time to time. That’s one of the reasons why we are there.
"Thank God the game is 90 minutes... it’s an interesting question, but it's a question I should probably think a little bit longer about before I answer it. You cannot shoot unprepared for that. Our situation is clear, I think you can see it in different ways. Around the Nottingham game we had quite a few positive performances and results, but we cannot ignore the Nottingham game as well.
"The Nottingham game was difficult for reasons I had no idea we would face when we had the press conference before the Nottingham game. So, I'm sitting here now... until you ask me who can play, I couldn't tell you because a lot of things can happen overnight. That's it. I don’t think you should only win the games where you are really outstanding. We were obviously not outstanding at Nottingham, but it was a game I think we should have won anyway. So, we didn't. But around that the reaction in the games from the boys was really good.
"In difficult moments, overcoming now the difficulties against Ajax in the beginning is a very important thing for our development and that's what we are doing. Now we have to see who is available for tomorrow, build a team, line up maybe in a different system again and go from there. Whoever is available, my job is to bring the boys in the best possible position for them. Not to play the system I always played or liked the most, or whatever, and that's what we are trying in the moment, and it worked out a couple of times now and we have to keep going like this."
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