Liverpool have completely ruined their season with a string of poor performances since the start of January and manager Jurgen Klopp believes it is due to their hefty schedule due to EFL Cup and FA Cup fixtures.
The Reds were in impressive form till December 31 when they beat Manchester City but the new year did not bring much fortune for them as they lost their way. Their incredible collapse in January saw them getting knocked out of EFL Cup and FA Cup.
The Premier League title is also a far cry now for the Reds as they collapsed to fifth place in the league after their dismal run. Liverpool however managed to turn the tide a little with their 2-0 win over Tottenham at Anfield earlier this month.
He said: “December-January. Not even Chelsea came through without no problems but they were able to play the same team all the time.
“They left the EFL Cup when, before it started? [It was the fourth round] I don’t remember them playing one game in that competition. ‘Get rid of this.’
“I spoke to Antonio [Conte] for a long time at Anfield, maybe 25 minutes, and he mentioned it [the fixture schedule] but said they could play the same 13-14 players all the time. That is the big difference.”
Klopp has now taken the team on a mid-season break as they have no fixtures till next weekend after being knocked out from all other competitions other than the Premier League.
Meanwhile, other managers might not agree to his excuse as Manchester United are still playing four competitions and are doing incredibly well.
However, Jurgen Klopp has plenty of pressure on him as he should help Reds to move back to Champions League next season with a top four finish this year which will be tough for the manager as only two points vary from second to sixth position in the league.