Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool that Leicester hotshot Jamie Vardy will “run riot” on Saturday if his team defend like they did against Red Bull Salzburg.
Liverpool beat Salzburg 4-3 in a Champions League thriller at Anfield on Wednesday , but only after surrendering a three-goal lead with what Klopp described as “rubbish” defending .
Mo Salah came to the rescue with a 69th-minute winner – but Klopp has warned his side they can’t defend like that again when they host Vardy and his high-flying Leicester team-mates for a mouthwatering Premier League clash on Saturday.
Former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has led his Leicester up to third place, and the champions of four seasons ago have been tipped to again upset the Premier League’s traditional elite this term.
Their charge up the table has been spearheaded by rapid England attacker Vardy with his five goals this season.
(Image: EMPICS Sport)
And Reds manager Klopp has warned Vardy will bag five more if there is any repeat of the mistakes that saw Salzburg come back from 3-0 down on Wednesday.
“I’m sure Brendan Rodgers will think if we defend like that against Leicester on Saturday, Jamie Vardy will run around our goalkeeper and score five times!” said Klopp.
Liverpool had gone 3-0 up inside 36 minutes in a scintillating attacking display, but Salzburg were level again by the hour mark before Salah secured victory.
(Image: REUTERS/Andrew Yates)
“How do I explain that?” said Klopp. “The first 30 minutes were some of the best football I’ve seen at Liverpool so far. We had a clear identity and did everything they didn’t like at high speed.
“We scored three and could have scored more – but they changed their system, we changed our approach a little bit, and our defending didn’t make sense.
“It wasn’t the goals as such, they played some great football. But we gave the ball away for the first goal, the third goal, and the positioning was just rubbish!”
