Questions were asked of Liverpool’s mettle following their 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes this week which has left them teetering on the brink of dropping out of the Champions League altogether and into the Europa.
Memories of an impressive transfer windows are slowly dissipating; both summer signings Fabinho and Naby Keita - supposed to herald a new look central Liverpool midfield line after being bought from Monaco and RB Leipzig, respectively - were once again omitted from the starting line-up in the French capital.
As a result, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner garnered fans’ ire with a distinctly unattractive performance.
There’s no rest for the wicked, however, with one of the fixtures of the season, the Merseyside Derby taking place this Sunday as the Reds once again welcome Everton to Anfield and the home fans journeying to the stadium will no doubt expect an improved performance than the one seen in midweek - that may produce the inclusion of either Fabinho or Keita - or fear losing more ground on Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Klopp has now fiercely rejected criticism levelled at his players and team selection. There is also the further concern that their withdrawal of the intended transfer of dynamic Lyon attacker Nabil Fekir has proven to be detrimental and leading Liverpool to have perceived blunted cutting edge in the centre of the park.
"Bringing one player in would change everything? “That’s b******t, and you know it.”
The German manager raged in the pre-match press conference, as reported by The Echo, in anticipation of his side’s meeting with the Toffees.
“Really, if people cannot enjoy our football then I can’t help them. I get constantly confronted by people saying something is missing. Of course it could be better, but it’s not because of one player.”
Liverpool have still made their best ever start to a Premier League season, unbeaten, a collection of 33 points from 13 games - dropping only six points - and currently sit in second in the league.
History is on the host’s side as well. Everton are on a 19-year winless streak at Anfield, stretching all the way back to September 1999.
Liverpool versus Everton kicks off at 16:15 (GMT), Sunday 2nd December.
