Jurgen Klopp was furious with one of his players for an unpredictable moment at Anfield on Thursday night, despite Liverpool dominating for the majority of the second half against LASK. He sent a sharp three-word message to the individual.
Journalists Paul Gorst and Theo Squires listed some interesting facts that the main TV coverage probably missed in an article for the Liverpool Echo.
One of those involved Curtis Jones becoming enraged at Kostas Tsimikas after the midfielder established a promising position at the edge of the penalty box and the Greek defender mishandled a long ball to the back post, requiring Harvey Elliott to retrieve it.
The story stated: “Jones wasn’t the only man inside Anfield to get frustrated with Tsimikas on Thursday night.” It wasn’t just the Scouser who had words for the 27-year-old. After the same shaky cross in the second half, manager Jurgen Klopp also did.
On the sidelines, the German was spotted yelling. He then raised his palms to his face and indicated that he needed spectacles. After all, it has been a while since he needed his signature eyewear.
Tsimikas had a miserable night away at Toulouse in the Europa League last month while filling in for the injured Andy Robertson, but he bounced back with two assists against Brentford and a respectable performance at Manchester City.
Despite his mostly clean play, he came dangerously close to scoring last night in the first half with a rocket of a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. His passing from the left should have been better at times. He discovered a teammate who had only one of his four crosses, according to Sofascore.
The response from Jones and Klopp made it abundantly evident that Liverpool was not going to let their standards slip, even though the game was already comfortably in the bag at 3-0 when the Greece defender failed to find Jones midway through the second half.
Tsimikas still has room to grow in this area, but he demonstrated against Brentford that, in his prime, he can be a very helpful goal provider. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that side of him when Robertson returns.
