Mirror
Liverpool’s disastrous title defence took another turn for the worse as they were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at Anfield.
Mario Lemina’s second-half strike condemned the Reds to their sixth successive home loss, with their hopes for a top-four finish in doubt.
Jurgen Klopp rang the changes for the visit of resurgent Fulham, making seven switches from the win over Sheffield United.
The likes of Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold were relegated to the bench, with Klopp’s squad players failing to meet the challenge.
Asked for the reasons behind Liverpool ’s dramatic line-up changes, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness claimed that there may have been some difficult talks behind closed doors.
“I think certainly one or two, maybe three things. That he’s certainly had words with some of them, he’s not happy with some of them,” Souness told Sky Sports.
“Three games in six days, is he thinking he should be resting some? To make seven changes, that’s a hell of a lot.”
Liverpool face RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek and Souness felt that Klopp had prioritised that fixture over their ever worsening Premier League campaign.
He added: “Are you starting to prioritise? Are you thinking we’re going to struggle to get in the top four the way it’s going?
“It’s a difficult call, only the players and the manager himself will know if they’ve had words.
“I would imagine that Jurgen has, if he’s not reached there, is pretty close to going down the road where he’s got to fall out with some players.
“I’d imagine seven changes is more than he’d like to make, but I’d imagine he’s maybe had some harsh words with some players.”
Meanwhile, fellow pundit Roy Keane suggested the German has simply lost patience with his out of form stars. And also pointed to a series of incidents indicating that all is not well in the Anfield dressing room.
“He’s obviously, I think, lost patience with some of the players,” the ex-Manchester United skipper explained.
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