Klopp gets mad as Liverpool get even against West Brom

Liverpool 1 West Brom 1

Liverpool missed another chance to eat up the gap to the Premier League's top four on Sunday evening as they scraped a draw against West Brom and Jurgen Klopp got involved in his first touchline fracas.

Manchester United's defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday had given Jurgen Klopp's Reds the chance to close in on a Champions League place, but a host of missed chances and an error from goalkeeper Simon Mignolet meant that the gap came down by just a single point.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Liverpool took the lead early through Jordan Henderson, but it wasn't long before Mignolet made a hash of a corner allowing Craig Dawson to stab home the equaliser.

Mignolet's error, one of a number he's made in recent games, may give Jurgen Klopp something to think about in the long term, but the German had more pressing concerns with 15 minutes to go in the game when Jonas Olsson headed the Baggies into an unlikely lead.

But the Reds salvaged a point when substitute Divock Origi struck in the 95th minute to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat. That escape prompted Klopp to lead his team's celebrations in front of the Kop at the final whistle. The German manager marched his players over to the fans and ordered them to take a bow in front of the supporters, who he has been so keen to court since his arrival at Anfield.

The German also praised the fans later, describing the atmosphere inside Anfield as the best he had experienced since his arrival in England.

But while Klopp was currying favour with the supporters he seemed less concerned about the opposition, after refusing to shake hands with Tony Pulis at full-time. He later explained: "We had some words in the game and sometimes it takes more than a few seconds to cool down. Usually I shake hands. It was not a friendly game."

The final whistle was greeted with "a mixture of rage, delight and exasperation", says Chris Bascombe of the Daily Telegraph, who notes that Klopp was infuriated after defender Dejan Lovren was seriously injured by a tackle from Craig Gardner, which left the Croatian on crutches with stitches in a leg wound.