I still think: Jurgen Klopp aims big dig at £40M Tottenham star
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, has made a sly dig at Tottenham Hotspur playmaker James Maddison before of this weekend’s Premier League match against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.
In the eyes of us mere mortals, the goal that secured Manchester City’s Premier League title in 2019 – Vincent Kompany slamming home one of the most iconic strikes in the competition’s history from miles away to Leicester – was one of those moments where you just throw up your hands and admit there was nothing you could do to prevent it.
Well, not according to Jurgen Klopp.
According to the Liverpool manager, if James Maddison had been more focused on his defensive responsibilities, Kompany would not have been asked to unleash that bomb, and the trophy may have been decked with red rather than blue ribbons that season.
“Yes, I forgave him that goal a long time (ago),” Klopp grins, speaking to the Liverpool website ahead of Burnley’s visit to Anfield on Saturday.
“There are plenty of players I should despise. Arjen Robben, the former Bayern Munich winger, is one of them! But I don’t. Same with Vincent Kompany.
“I suppose there were other circumstances in that season that I believed were more important than Vincent Kompany’s goal. When I think about it, I still believe Maddison should have blocked the shot!
“Vincent merely attempted to get rid of the ball, which ended up in the goal! No, it is not significant. Yes, I have forgiven him long ago.”
Liverpool aims to remain at the top of the standings
Maddison’s game, of all, has always been about scoring goals rather than preventing them. But Klopp has a point: the then-Leicester talisman stood idly by as Kompany took aim.
Liverpool, at least, would end their three-decade wait for a top-flight title just one year later. That remains their sole Premier League victory since the competition’s start, but the long-serving German hopes to add another.
Liverpool is two points ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal, despite losing 3-1 to the latter last time out.
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