Liverpool's Sevilla Defeat Leaves Jurgen Klopp in No Doubt Where Changes Needed
ST. JAKOB-PARK, Basel — Liverpool arrived in Switzerland looking to turn a rollercoaster of a season into one that ended with a European trophy and a place in next season's UEFA Champions League.
They depart after suffering their second defeat in a final and with no European football next season, having lost 3-1 to Sevilla in Basel in the UEFA Europa League final.
Jurgen Klopp's side were ahead at the interval courtesy of Daniel Sturridge's beautiful outside-of-the-boot finish after 35 minutes. But an equalising goal from the Spanish team just 18 seconds into the second half saw Liverpool fail to recover, and Sevilla took advantage and full control of the match.
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Kevin Gameiro was the man to profit, tapping in Mariano Ferreira's cross after some woeful defending from former Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno.
Liverpool, who had been denied at least one clear penalty in the first half, looked shellshocked and spent most of the second half on the back foot, unable to muster yet another comeback.
Indeed, 35-year-old Kolo Toure, likely playing his final game for the Reds, was comfortably their best performer as he attempted to stop the tide.
Toure could do nothing about Sevilla's second goal, when left-winger Coke finished a lovely passing move from the Liga team that saw them cut Liverpool apart in the middle and finish past Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet into the bottom corner.
Coke then added a third, which was finally awarded after the linesman appeared to have flagged for offside initially.
That decision went Sevilla's way, as did several others on the night, with Liverpool having three handball penalty calls and Dejan Lovren's headed goal in the first half ruled out despite replays showing Sturridge was onside initially.
Post-match, Klopp refused to labour the decisions that went against his side, but he did point to a lack of luck in finals—this was his fifth consecutive defeat as a manager in a final.
It could all have been so different had Liverpool added a second before half-time, with Lovren's goal disallowed and the Reds having the Spaniards on the ropes in the 10 minutes after going ahead. Half-time arrived just in time for the holders, though, and they returned like a new team.
Sevilla had gone very direct in the first half, but the second half saw them pass Liverpool off the pitch. Playmaker Ever Banega was at the heart of everything, with the Reds' midfield and defence unable to pin him down.
Liverpool's playmaker, Philippe Coutinho, was the opposite: ineffective and failed to have any influence on the game whatsoever. He'd come up with the goods, and the goals, against Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund on the way to the final, but he struggled in the Swiss rain.
Behind Coutinho, left-back Alberto Moreno struggled, too. The player who won this competition with Sevilla in 2014 was largely at fault for the equalising goal, again showing immaturity in his defending. Calls for him to be replaced this summer will now only grow from supporters who see him as one of the weak links in this side.
That it was Toure who only came out of this game with any credit shows how badly Liverpool's defence struggled against Sevilla's slick passing in the second half.
The Ivorian stalwart made several lung-busting sprints to make crucial tackles, not least a superb block to deny Gameiro not long after the equalising goal.
Toure's efforts were ultimately in vain, again denied a European medal, having lost the 2006 Champions League final with Arsenal.
If players' futures were decided by this game alone, Toure would be handed a new deal and others would be searching for new clubs.
Changes
In his post-match press conference, Klopp spoke about how there will be changes made this summer. Changes that were set to take place no matter the outcome of this match.
"The team will be a different team [next season], that is clear," he said. "We will do something with transfers—that’s sure.
Klopp discussed the need to use this experience to help the squad develop and how they will benefit from more coaching time not only in pre-season, but also next term with no European commitments.
A left-back, a goalkeeper and a robust midfielder will be high on Klopp's list of priorities—Sevilla exposed all three weaknesses, and many of Liverpool's other opponents this season have done the same.
"There were moments when we showed what we are capable of but to be consistent we need more time and they are quite young," he said.
Some experienced players, then, wouldn't go amiss either at Anfield either.
On a night that could have ended in Liverpool being back in the Champions League for Klopp's first full season in charge, the squad he inherited showed just why they weren't among Europe's elite competition when he arrived at the club.
Klopp has consistently backed the players he has inherited, but after a long assessment period and two finals to make his appraisals from, he'll know exactly what is required this summer.
On the day when Anfield's old Main Stand roof was being demolished, defeat in Basel showed that the rebuild is required both on and off the pitch at Liverpool.
* Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.
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