Ian Wright Tears Into Liverpool Boss Jurgen Klopp Over Inability to See Out Victories in Key Matches

Football pundit Ian Wright has taken aim at Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp, claiming that his comments regarding his reluctance to grind out results is a mere smokescreen to shield his side's embarrassments. 

The Reds threw away a 1-0 lead late on against Chelsea at the weekend, leaving them 14 points off the top of the table in sixth.Writing in his weekly column for The Sun, the ex-Arsenal star blasted Klopp for claiming he had not interest in killing off games with highly defensive football. Wright contended:

"We’re not talking cheating here. We’re talking basic game management. The ability to run down the clock in a professional and organised manner. To me, Klopp’s words were those of an idealist. Great in theory, but not practical at all — not if you want to win things.

"It smacked of him trying to mask his team’s mistakes and embarrassment through his principles. And I don’t believe him for one minute. Are you telling me if Liverpool were in front in the dying seconds of a game to win the title or the Champions League, he wouldn’t want them doing everything to see it through? I’m sorry, I’m just not having that."

Willian's late goal for Chelsea blew Liverpool's chances of going fourth in the league, as Arsenal picked up a crucial last gasp victory against Burnley to overtake them. 

Liverpool aren't alone in their inconsistent form, with Manchester City and Manchester United the only sides to show the kind of grit and reliability required to be Premier League champions thus far.