‘The worst Liverpool team I’ve played against’ – Joey Barton slams Reds under Klopp
By Harvey Byrne
Outspoken pundit and midfielder Joey Barton has slammed the current Liverpool team as the worst he’s ever played against.
The 34-year-old played the full 90 minutes at Anfield in March as the Clarets fell to a 2-1 defeat against Burnley with goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Emre Can cancelling out an early Ashley Barnes effort.
However, Barton has now stated that he was less than impressed with the Liverpool team he faced and the Huyton-born man believes it’s the worst Reds side he’s played against.
Barton brought up that there were still major issues in the team that Jurgen Klopp has not solved and told that he believes Nathaniel Clyne is the only solid player in the Reds’ back four.
“I played against them a couple of weeks a go and I would arguably say it’s the worst Liverpool team I’ve played against at Anfield,” told Barton speaking on BT Sport on Sunday.
“I’ve always gone there and it’s been difficult to play and they just didn’t seem to have the same conviction that they seem to have had over the course of my career.
“You would expect them to win today, but there were certain things about the team, certain key components to having a good side like the defensive structure, the solidity through the middle of the park and I just don’t think they have that.
“You can dress that up in whichever way you want. They’ve been very good going forward with the acquisition of (Sadio) Mane, but defensively the goalkeepers still an issue. They play James Milner at left-back. They’ve got to go out and recruit near enough a back four. It’s probably only Clyne who you can say is solid in that position.”
Klopp’s first full season in charge of Liverpool has resulted in a fourth place finish for the Reds and Champions League football next season.
It is a position that fans will have accepted before the season started, but after being in second place and just six points behind league leaders Chelsea after 19 games supporters were hoping for much better at the halfway point.
Now the club will be looking to push forward in the next campaign and many will be hoping that the Reds can once again challenge for their first Premier League title.
In other Liverpool news, here are three things we learned about the Reds in their win against Middlesbrough.
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