Jurgen Klopp was unhappy with the Liverpool fans in attendance at Anfield on Wednesday, as his side progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
A loaded week in Liverpool's season first saw them face Manchester United in a drab 0-0 draw on Sunday, before their cup quarter-final against West Ham on Wednesday night. The final assignment pre-Christmas will be a festive top-of-the-table showdown against Arsenal on Saturday night - their third game in a row at Anfield.
The atmosphere at Liverpool's home ground is famously electric, and one would expect the stadium to be rocking for a Saturday evening kick-off against the league leaders. That anticipation is only amplified by the fact that a new upper tier in the Anfield Road end was completed in time for the game, bringing the capacity up to 57,000.
Manager Jurgen Klopp, however, is not as confident.
At his post-match press conference on Wednesday, he revealed he was unhappy with the atmosphere generated during the quarter-final win against West Ham and encouraged fans to steer clear of Anfield on Saturday if they did not feel "right."
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Jurgen Klopp had surprising comments about Anfield crowd
Given the mutual adoration between Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool fans, it is thoroughly surprising to hear the German coach criticising the home crowd at Anfield.
However, he did not hold back in making his feelings clear after the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
🗣 "Give your ticket to somebody else".
Jurgen Klopp said he was "not overly happy" with the atmosphere at Anfield during Liverpool's 5-1 EFL Cup win over West Ham. 😬#BBCFootball #LFC pic.twitter.com/MLChUSjz8f— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 21, 2023
Despite his side putting on an exhibition in a ruthless 5-1 victory over West Ham, Klopp was displeased with the atmosphere generated in the stadium. He even encouraged fans to give up their tickets for Saturday's crunch game against Arsenal if they were not prepared to bring the noise:
If you're not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else.
I was not overly happy, I have to say. Not with the atmosphere behind me. I don't know, I asked people, 'what do you want?' We changed a lot of things, we dominated West Ham like crazy and we missed chances. If I was in the stands, I would be on my toes, 1000%.
Klopp suggested that the atmosphere may have been the result of a hangover from Sunday's lifeless draw against Manchester United, during which neither side was able to create clearcut chances:
I don't know if the Man United game was that bad that we have to say sorry we didn't smash them?
We need Anfield on Saturday, we need Anfield on their toes.
Liverpool's crunch top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal kicks off at 5:30pm on Saturday night at Anfield.
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