‘He seems to be losing it’: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp blasted for ‘beyond childish’ attack on reporter after latest loss (VIDEO)

8 Feb, 2021 15:40 / Updated 4 years ago

Jurgen Klopp's nice guy image has fallen apart again after he launched his latest baffling attack on a reporter on Sunday, slamming a question about the Premier League title as not "appropriate" after wrongly arguing about points.

Prickly Liverpool boss Klopp accused an interviewer of being ill-prepared after they pointed out that Manchester City, who handed the Reds a damaging 4-1 defeat at Anfield, were 10 points ahead of his team.

The reporter clearly had not accounted for Klopp being unaware of the distance Liverpool were from City after the match, receiving a rocket as he repeatedly raged that the man "only had two questions" after he dared to ask about the reigning champions' prospects for the remainder of their faltering season.

"I really think you should prepare for your job a little bit better, to be honest," Klopp spitefully rattled back, having been asked a question that any fan would have been keen to hear the answer to after City collected a potentially defining victory in the title race.

"How can you ask... they are 13 points away, in my understanding, and this question about... do you really think that's an appropriate question at the moment?

"You have only two questions and you waste one for that. Your fault - you had only two questions. The second one was... you wasted it."

When the interviewer changed tack to ask an equally reasonable question about whether Liverpool would now be setting their sights on securing a Champions League spot by finishing in the Premier League top four, Klopp again belittled its validity by curtly retorting: "I think they [City] run away [with the league]. That's obvious, we try to do that [aim for the top four]."

Klopp is clearly feeling the pressure after overseeing a dismal run of two wins in nine Premier League matches for his depleted squad, although his spiky replies to journalists and curious accusations of bias have been a feature across the campaign.

There was another tense exchange with experienced Sky Sports interviewer Geoff Shreeves after the chastening defeat to City, reigniting a spat that saw Klopp question the broadcaster's right to claim he is a top-class correspondent recently.

When Shreeves benignly suggested to Klopp that it had "not been your day today" and asked him to analyze the performance, the coach fired back: "Big parts of the game were brilliant from my side.

"I can see in your eyes you think differently. I really liked it. In the first half we played really good football."

Shreeves challenged Klopp after his initial assumption, assuring him that his eyes only betrayed the fact that he was "listening intently".

Klopp's glowing assessment of his team's performance was not shared by viewers, who gave every Liverpool player an average rating below four-and-a-half out of ten on BBC Sport.

Twelve of the 14 stars involved received less than four out of ten, and many observers were shocked by the post-match manner adopted by a manager whose charm and charisma have often been trumpeted by fans and the club.

"Jose [Mourinho] gets berated for the smallest things," argued one, calling Klopp a "top-notch bell.""It's about time Klopp gets grief."

Broadcaster Jay Motty, who posted the footage of Klopp's altercation over the points gap on Twitter, asked: "Is there really any f*cking need for this?

"The reporter asks a reasonable question and is hammered by Klopp, who also decides the gap is 13 points not 10, even though it actually is 10, like the reporter said. Embarrassing."

Fourth-placed Liverpool had remained unbeaten for 68 home matches before surprise defeats against lowly Burnley and Brighton preceded the visit of City.

They travel to Leicester, the side a place and three points above them in the table, for another high-stakes match this week. The pressure is unlikely to ease when they visit Leipzig in the Champions League and host neighbours Everton in the two games that follow.

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