Exclusive: Stan Collymore explains why Liverpool’s Leicester performance may have suffered

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Stan Collymore has suggested that the break afforded to Liverpool by virtue of the postponement of the club’s clash with Leeds United may have contributed to the disappointing 1-0 defeat suffered at the King Power Stadium.

A deflated and lethargic Jurgen Klopp side struggled to impose themselves in a tie that had recently been the site of a superb comeback in the Carabao Cup, with a mixed side getting through to the semi-finals of the competition following a win on penalties.

“That six-day break can also leave you a little bit flat,” the former striker told Empire of the Kop.

“We’ve seen many teams across football history where they’ve had a good break, a good rest, and they’ve been flat.

“I’ve played in those games myself. Sometimes those two or three games you play in a week can go like that [snaps fingers]. It can feel like five minutes of your life and you’re flying.

“If you’re not flying it can feel like the three most difficult games of the season; you’re not winning, you’re getting done every week.

“But also, a five or six or ten-day gap when you’re expecting to play, when you are mentally prepared to play, can leave you flat.”

The result leaves the Merseyside-based outfit lagging behind leaders Manchester City by nine points in third (albeit, with a game in hand to play against second-placed Chelsea in January).

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The reality of the situation is that keeping up with the level of consistency on display from the Citizens is a far from simple task – particularly given it means we can hardly afford to have any slip-ups in a season to reach the ideal 90-plus point mark.

As the 2018/19 campaign proved, however, getting close to 100 points isn’t always a guarantee of domestic success when Pep Guardiola’s men are around, which certainly demonstrates just how remarkable our recent achievements of late have been.

We’ll need to be as close to perfection as possible with our performances in the second-half of the season, which, as prior efforts have shown, isn’t beyond the realm of reality for this Liverpool side this term.

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