Klopp upbeat despite Cup exit

LONDON • Liverpool’s slump continued as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by archrivals Manchester United on Sunday but manager Jurgen Klopp said his side were moving in the right direction.

A woeful run since Christmas has seen Liverpool win only once in seven games and that was against a virtual Aston Villa under-23 team in the FA Cup third round.

The English champions lost a league game at Anfield for the first time in nearly four years on Thursday to Burnley to fall six points behind United at the top of the table.

In response, Klopp named a strong side despite making five changes as Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino returned for the fourth-round clash at Old Trafford.

They looked far more like their old selves, playing high up, forcing errors and dominating possession (58 per cent).

Their misfiring forward line also appeared to find form with Salah’s two well-taken goals. His first gave his side an 18th-minute lead before Mason Greenwood levelled, and then again in the 58th minute after the outstanding Marcus Rashford had slotted United ahead.

But Liverpool looked uncomfortable at the back, as United counter-attacked to devastating effect and were knocked out by a superb Bruno Fernandes free-kick goal late on.

The Portuguese substitute used Paul Pogba to unsight custodian Alisson Becker and fired the ball low into the left-hand corner.

It is one of the toughest periods Klopp has endured at Liverpool for some time but the German was upbeat despite highlighting the decisive mistakes which proved costly.

“It’s not what we wanted, so it’s frustrating,” he said, after the 3-2 loss that meant he has reached the fifth round of the FA Cup only once in six attempts and will have to wait another season for hopes of a first Cup title in England.

“We weren’t on our absolute top, but we made a lot of steps in the right direction.

• FA CUP 5TH ROUND

  Manchester United v West Ham

  Everton v Tottenham/Wycombe (II)

  Swansea (II) v Manchester City

  Barnsley (II) v Chelsea

  Wolves v Southampton

  Leicester v Brighton

  Burnley v Bournemouth (II)/Crawley (IV)

  Sheffield United v Bristol City (II)

  Premier League unless otherwise stated

“You could see the boys really wanted to change the fortune, they wanted to score goals… We did that, we scored twice. That’s all okay but in the end they scored three, we scored two and they are through. But we can take positives out of this game.”

After watching the way his side were undone on the break by United, he said they would need to work on the training ground this week to prepare for the trip to Tottenham, who also rely heavily on counter-attacking.

Klopp added: “We know exactly what we have to work on. If you are in a situation you don’t like, you want to get out of it.”

He denied that his team, who would slip out of the top four in the Premier League if they lose to Spurs on Thursday, are running low on confidence.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, in contrast, have gone from strength to strength.

United have lost only once – a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup semi-finals – since exiting the Champions League in December.

“It’s fantastic to win games over last year’s champions,” said the Norwegian after his side earned a last-16 tie against West Ham.

“Look at the difference to six months back. We’re getting better and winning tight games. The morale and confidence is very good – everyone is elated and on a high.”

Leicester struck three times in the second half to win 3-1 at Championship side Brentford and next host Brighton.

Everton, meanwhile, thumped second-tier Sheffield Wednesday 3-0.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE