Jürgen Klopp rallies Liverpool to face Ajax after ‘five days of truth’

Jürgen Klopp has demanded Liverpool respond to the worst display of his Anfield reign when they host Ajax on Tuesday after he delivered “four or five days of absolute truth” following the rout by Napoli.

Time has not mellowed the Liverpool manager’s assessment of the 4-1 defeat in Naples last Wednesday. Klopp admitted it was a defensive shambles that asked questions of everyone involved, himself included, and left him in a challenging situation. He insists Liverpool must react with a united, solid performance to kickstart their Champions League campaign.

“I watched the game back plenty of times and it was a real horror show, to be honest,” said Klopp, who will be without the injured Andy Robertson until after the international break. “It was the worst game we played since I was here. We had a few bad games – everyone remembers Aston Villa [beating his side 7-2] and some others where we were just not up to speed, but there were always glimpses in these games. In this particular game: nothing.

“Eight out of 11 were below their level and the three others were not on a top level, just a normal game. In football like this, you solve all individual problems as a team and that’s the first thing we have to do, to follow common ideas again. Everything what we did since I am here and everything my teams do in football is based on a really solid if not perfect defending. That’s where it all starts and that is what we had to work on.”

Klopp admits the Napoli performance put him in the rare position of questioning Liverpool’s players, and he did not hold back over recent days, when training has focused on basic defensive principles. As Joël Matip put it: “Sometimes it hurts but in a good team, which I think we are, you can speak