Roy Keane was damning in his indictment of Liverpool’s title defence under Jurgen Klopp, with Arne Slot’s champions now suffering similar struggles five seasons on
Roy Keane didn’t let up when slamming Liverpool as “bad champions” to leave Jurgen Klopp fuming. The Manchester United icon went in on the Reds during their Premier League title defence in the 2020/21 season after being thrashed 4-1 at home to Manchester City in February 2021.
It was Liverpool’s second home defeat in a row and their third straight loss at Anfield, and the Irishman reached breaking point and aimed his wrath at the German and his side. Keane slammed the former Reds boss for making excuses and claimed Klopp’s side had bought into their own hype following Champions League and Premier League triumphs in back-to-back seasons.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “We spoke before the game – they are making a lot of excuses. To me they’ve been bad champions. You can lose a game of football but… I can’t figure this group out. Looking at them, even during the week, Brighton were comfortable, you can get beaten in a game – there’s a way to be beaten. But I don’t see that.
“I think maybe they’ve believed the hype over the last year or two. We spoke about there would be some sort of drop off, but they’re playing for a big team in Liverpool. It’s almost as if they won the league last year and got a bit carried away, believed their own hype, they’re going to beat teams.
“In my mindset, when you’ve won a league title your next challenge is, ‘Can we do it again?’ I never got the impression from this squad/group, from their interviews, even from the manager last year when they won it, were they saying, ‘What’s the next step for Liverpool?’ No. Almost, ‘Let’s enjoy this.’
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“Obviously it was a long wait, 30 years, but I never heard any of the players come out and say, ‘I want to do it again.’ That’s the key. Now they’re talking about trying to get in the top four… from winning the league last year. The top four is now where our targets are?”
The Reds contended with an injury crisis throughout that season with Virgil van Dijk the standout absentee as the Dutchman missed most of the season due to an ACL injury. Despite having to go without the defender, Keane insisted it wasn’t an excuse for their dire performances.
“They’re a huge club,” he added. “They have to deal with setbacks. Is that not part of the game? If players were fit the whole time it would be fantastic. You could look at Man City and say they’re missing their two best players.
“They’ve come to Liverpool, who have a strong team, I know the two centre halves are missing, but they still had their best attacking players on the pitch. [They] still had their best goalkeeper available, they still have international players available. And after the game, I think Klopp said the keeper’s feet were cold!”
Keane’s comments didn’t remain without a reply as Klopp promised Liverpool fans they’ll see success from the club again. “We will go again,” he insisted, expanding: “If you didn’t see a really good football team that will win football games again, I don’t know exactly. That really hurts tonight, but we will go again.
“If you are only really united when we are winning, there is something wrong with you. We will go again. This is a tough moment in a tough season – I saw a lot of good things tonight and we have to go again and again and again.”
Klopp certainly delivered on his promise as the following season he led Liverpool to the domestic cup double while reaching a third Champions League final in five seasons and finishing a point behind City.
Another Premier League or Champions League under Klopp did not arrive, with their next opportunity to hoist the league title coming six months ago under Arne Slot, but the jubilant celebrations after confirmation of the title was sealed when beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 seem like a lifetime ago.
After starting the season with five league wins on the bounce, Liverpool have dramatically fallen out of form and are now on a run of four consecutive league losses – the first time they’ve been on such a streak since 2021.
Currently sitting seventh in the league and seven points behind Arsenal, the Reds’ chances of mounting a title challenge against the north London side keep dwindling. Their latest defeat – a 3-2 loss to Brentford on Saturday – has only further increased the pressure on Slot, who admitted he doesn’t currently have the answers to turn his side’s fortunes around.
Keane’s label of “bad champions” can very well be placed on Slot’s side thus far, with the Dutchman needing to orchestrate a significant turnaround to rid himself, and his team, of the undesirable tag.
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