Jurgen Klopp had the chance to make Liverpool history in his final Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
If Liverpool had beaten Everton at Goodison Park, then he would have been the most successful manager in this fixture surpassing the great Sir Kenny Dalglish.
Instead, it ended in disaster for the German as he watched his team crumble to a 2-0 defeat in front of a lively and hostile crowd.
On paper, the Reds should be dispatching their neighbours because one is pushing for the Premier League title, whilst the other is trying to avoid relegation.
Yet, judging by the performance out on that pitch, there was only one team that looked like title challengers and they certainly weren’t wearing red.
That’s probably why you can understand Klopp’s frustration on the touchline and post-match because his players certainly let him down – Darwin Nunez seems to be taking most of the verbal pelters.
It just goes to show that such a game can even get to the best of the best, no matter how experienced they are.
Before a ball was kicked, the departing Liverpool boss made it clear in his pre-match thoughts that he is going to ‘remain calm’ in his last derby.
But as presenter Steve Bower pointed out, he ended up doing the opposite and, at one point, he was ‘infuriated’ as he also proceeded to push away his goalkeeping coach, John Achterberg, when he tried to talk to the fourth official.
Michael Owen also reacted to Klopp’s actions and how the game changed his character, despite his pre-match claims, as he told Premier League Productions (24/04/24 at 9:00 pm).
Jurgen Klopp on the touchline
“Jurgen Klopp saying to us before the game ‘I am going to remain calm. I have done. It’s my last derby’,” said Steve Bower.
“He was infuriated. This is Mac Allister not getting a free kick. That’s John Achterberg his goalkeeping coach (he is pushing away).”
Owen responded: “Everyone is calm before the game. But as soon as your opponents score, as soon as the game gets lively then, of course, you feel it. You are on the side of the pitch and you have got all that passion.”
Liverpool need a reaction… or do they?
That’s what you would probably ask for, but in truth, it has been asked for weeks now and it hasn’t been delivered.
If getting knocked out of the Europa League with ease to Atalanta was bad enough, matters were made worse with that Crystal Palace defeat.
The players had the chance to react after that and they haven’t.
The issue here is that there isn’t just two teams in the Premier League title race, which has been the norm for years now, that’s if Manchester City haven’t wrapped it up already.
So, Liverpool now need Arsenal and Manchester City to both drop points, which in truth, simply isn’t going to happen.