“Not cool” – Jurgen Klopp far from happy with question about late Liverpool fouls

Patrick McCarry

The Liverpool boss answered the question but was not happy with the line of enquiry.

Jurgen Klopp admitted that a Fabinho foul on young Ireland striker Evan Ferguson was “not cool” but he refused to accept that a lack of discipline had cost his side against Brighton.

The FA Cup holders slipped to a 2-1 defeat in the fourth round after losing to Roberto do Zebri’s side for the second time in just over a fortnight.

Liverpool led Brighton through a Harvey Elliott goal, in the first half, but conceded to a freak Lewis Dunk goal and were beaten when Kaoru Mitoma bagged a Brighton winner in stoppage time.

Following his side’s defeat, Klopp was asked by a reporter about a trio of late fouls – from Ibrahima Konate, Fabinho and Andy Robertson – and a sequence that ended up with Brighton scoring, indirectly, from a free-kick in the closing stages. The reporter said Fabinho’s challenge on Evan Ferguson, which resulted in the 18-year-old limping off, was ‘a horrible tackle which easily could have been red’.

Klopp initially said he ‘did not see that tackle’ before expanding on the Fabinho foul. “There was no dynamic in it. I just saw it once, not a second time. With dynamic [movement], we can talk about a red card but Fabinho was more lying, then he hit [Ferguson]. Not cool.”

Asked if that spate of late fouls was in line with Liverpool “falling apart”, Jurgen Klopp replied, “I don’t think that is what happened.

“That’s my job now, these past few weeks [and results], that I have to pretty much accept all the questions that you can ask. You can dig so deep, and left and right, as you want. That’s how it is.

“Maybe it looks like that from your point of view. We will not fall apart, I can tell you. If it looks like that, sorry… At the end, I’m pretty sure that your assessment, or what you made of [those fouls] is not right.”

🗣️ "Your assessment is not right"

Jurgen Klopp reacts to Liverpool being knocked out of the FA Cup after their 2-1 defeat to Brighton 😬 pic.twitter.com/5Lii686zxt

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 29, 2023

Evan Ferguson left Amex Stadium on crutches after his side’s 2-1 win over Liverpool. “We are sorry for Evan,” Brighton boss Roberto di Zebri told beIn Sports after the game.

“The injury, we don’t know yet, but we will see in the next days and we hope for him and for the club that it will not be so important an injury.”