I don't think it's a lack of effort, desire - I think it's simply a lack of quality.
Lovren has improved up to an average level recently but he was badly out of line with the rest of the defence which would have ruled the first goal offside, combined with Clyne's poor marking, and Lucas's nonexistent defending.
The second goal saw Clyne being targeted by Carroll, and Clyne had to deal with two players!! Again, what is Lovren doing there?
The midfield without Can and Henderson isn't good enough, and even with both, it's still not enough. Lucas isn't good defensively and he won't offer anything going forward. Allen is the same and Milner is just a yard dog. Again, lack of quality.
The attack is incredibly disjointed. Since Coutinho had his child, he's been poor. Firmino has lost his touch. Ibe is positive but still raw. Lallana has good movement but offers little on the ball. Benteke is Benteke.
Those doubting Klopp are fools, and those thinking that this team is performing Gegenpressing or anything close to it need to find another sport. This is nowhere near it and it won't be for another year or two because a) it requires excellent fitness levels and b) intelligence - pundits think it's just pressing I.e chasing down the ball all the time.
Gegenpressing is far more structured and relies on triggers to start the press and dictates how many players go for it. It's not going to be implemented overnight as so called pundits would have you believe because it relies real game intelligence.
Klopp is not complete excused as I think he could be doing things differently but at the end of the day, he's not been helped by individual errors from the usual suspects and injuries. Rodgers used to moan about injuries but in reality, it was just Sturridge.
Klopp has lost Ings and Sturridge, as well an improved Origi up front. Our captain and the only other half decent CM who rarely got injured suffered a serious injury, and has lost Sakho, Skrtel, Gomez and Lovren at some point in this season. Now, I'm not saying that all are crucial to the team because half of them aren't, but a squad as thin as ours still needs players especially given our hectic schedule. Look at our bench today.
This season is a write off - let Klopp get his feet under the table, get used to the league, assess the squad and implement the basics which he has done to some extent. I used to think it's imperative to get CL in order to track certain players which is true, but Klopp can attract quality players with his name alone. If we miss out on CL, I don't care because I know we are building something special.
