‘Please’: Jurgen Klopp reportedly had a request for Liverpool defenders

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Jurgen Klopp had a request for his Liverpool defenders, according to reports. It’s one that highlights his struggle at the moment.

Liverpool finally got a Premier League win on Sunday – their first since January 31st. Okay, it was against the team rock-bottom of the table.

But a win is a win at this point. We’ll take what we can get.

That’s the situation Liverpool are in, of course. They’re constantly playing under squad limitations, such is the injury crisis.

Particularly, they’ve had problems at the back. They’ve used 18 partnerships at centre-half this season – with more to come, once Ben Davies gets a run-out.

That brings about problems for Jurgen Klopp, who has to somehow make things work at Liverpool without reliable defenders. He can’t call on his best options and he can’t call on players who are used to playing together.

And one report from Sunday’s win highlights that problem.

‘Please’

The Liverpool Echo reports that Klopp was constantly trying to get his defenders to talk to one another. The lack of communication was a real problem, then.

And it will be. Defenders need to set their positions based on one another but they can’t do that in silence. You want a defensive unit, not a bunch of individuals.

If someone is stepping back, he needs to let the others know to drop the line. If someone has two players to mark, he needs to vocalise a need for help.

It’s all basic stuff and not usually something Klopp worries about. Virgil van Dijk is meant to be back there, after all, leading the defence.

 “You’re not talking to each other,” Klopp reportedly said on once occasion. “Talk to each other, please.”

It explains why he used Jordan Henderson back there when he could. No one, after all, is more vocal than the captain.

He’s certainly going to talk more than players who are still learning at this level.

Hopefully, this problem solves itself with time and familiarity. Ozan Kabak has been at Liverpool for one short month, for one thing, and certainly hasn’t got chemistry with Nat Phillips, yet.

One positive way to look at it, then – Liverpool will only improve in this regard. If this is Klopp’s big problem, it’s one that should naturally ease up.