Not the end of the world, says Klopp

New Liverpool manager still awaiting first win after Saints draw

LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp has appealed for calm as he continues to wait for his first win as Liverpool manager, telling worried fans “it’s not the end of the world”.

Klopp has faced feverish attention both on and off the pitch since replacing the sacked Brendan Rodgers on a three-year contract earlier this month.

The former Borussia Dortmund coach is concerned that his arrival has raised expectations too high and could lead to panic after he failed to win any of his first three games in charge at Anfield.

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Klopp has drawn all of his matches so far with Southampton earning a 1-1 draw on Merseyside as Senegalese midfielder Sadio Mane’s late goal cancelled out Christian Benteke’s header on Sunday.

“We conceded a goal near the end, and it felt like the end of the world, but it is not the end of the world,” said Klopp. “Of course, it is not the best moment for us, because we wasted a lot of energy. Southampton haven’t lost away from home, so we had to work hard. You score the goal and you want to win, but it didn’t happen for us today. Football is not a fairytale. Sometimes we can write stories like this but it doesn’t always happen.”

Liverpool struggled to make an impression in the first half, but improved after Benteke replaced the ineffective Divock Origi in attack at half-time.

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Benteke, making only his second substitute appearance since returning from a month out with a hamstring injury, rose to head in James Milner’s cross at The Kop end 13 minutes from the end.

Mane, though, found an equaliser from close range nine minutes later after Jose Fonte and Gaston Ramirez had won headers from a free-kick played into Liverpool’s penalty area.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2015.

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