Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool’s away record this season has been ‘extremely bad’ at times, despite the team’s recent resurgence in form reigniting their Champions League qualification hopes.
The Reds have the second-most points at home of any side in the 2022/23 Premier League but are only ninth in terms of their away results, something which has made a top-four finish improbable if not yet impossible.
After three successive home games, each of which ended in victory, the Merseysiders are on the road to face Leicester on Monday night, going to a venue where they’ve lost on their previous two visits.
Klopp held his pre-match press conference on Friday morning ahead of that game and was candid in saying that his team’s record outside of Anfield leaves much room for improvement.
As per Liverpool Echo, the German said of the Reds’ away struggles this season: “We played extremely bad, but it wasn’t because we were away. Our record is still not brilliant.
“We had this discussion years ago. We realised it’s not that difficult. There is a difference and we have to be ready for that.”
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp rules Liverpool duo out of contention to face Leicester on Monday
Of Liverpool’s five away wins in the 2022/23 Premier League, two have come in their most recent couple of games on the road, with victories at Leeds and West Ham.
Monday night sees the Reds travel to another team near the wrong end of the table in Leicester, who go into the match off the back of a harrowing defeat at Fulham last Monday but also collected a win and a draw in their two previous home assignments.
After the trip to the King Power Stadium, the Reds have one more away fixture to navigate, going to Southampton on the final day. The Saints will very likely be mathematically relegated by then, so in theory it’s a game the visitors should win.
However, not even resounding victories in their final three matches of the campaign would guarantee Liverpool a top-four finish, and if they do miss out on the Champions League, much of that will boil down to a frightful return of eight top-flight defeats on their travels since August.
Many of those have been quite galling, with emphatic losses at the likes of Manchester City, Wolves, Brentford and Brighton, along with insipid performances against promoted duo Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.
Indeed, even if Klopp’s team do manage to salvage fourth place, there must still be a determination within the squad to vastly improve their record away from Anfield for the 2023/24 season.
You can view Klopp’s pre-Leicester press conference in full below, via Liverpool FC on YouTube: