Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the defensive problems which returned to plague his side in the 2-2 Champions League draw at home Sevilla cannot be solved in the transfer market.
The Reds wanted to sign Southampton’s £65million-rated centre-back Virgil van Dijk in the summer but had to publicly withdraw their interest after a tapping-up row.
With Saints refusing to sell at any price it was an area of the team which was not strengthened and defensive lapses – not the first this season – cost them as Sevilla scored from their only two shots on target.
‘I know you are always looking for this thing – the defence was always something being talked about: ‘We didn’t sign this or that’,’ he said.
‘If these problems could be solved by one player you can imagine we would have put all our money into it and say: ‘Let’s do this’.
‘It is about being dominant and losing a bit of a grip on the game in all the defensive moments.
‘There is space for improvement. We need to learn to be dominant and not give easy goals.
‘It is not a general defending problem but we have to improve 100 per cent.’
Dejan Lovren’s slip allowed Wissam Ben Yedder to score just five minutes into Liverpool’s return to the Champions League but goals from Roberto Firmino, who also missed a penalty, and Mohamed Salah appeared to have put them in control.
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