Liverpool triumphed 5-4 over Norwich in one of the games of the season on Saturday, but manager Jurgen Klopp, who smashed his glasses in the chaotic celebrations following Adam Lallana's last-ditch winner for the Reds, was not blind to the problems his team faces.
The German resisted the urge to replace his broken spectacles with a pair of rose-tinted ones following the mayhem at Carrow Road and admitted his side "had a lot of problems" after watching Norwich score four goals against his defence.
"Four goals from set-plays, that must be a new record, I think you have to make a new list for British football... It's rubbish what we are doing," he said.
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The game was a "brilliant shambles", says the Daily Mail, but would have left Klopp concerned.
"It's hard to turn a corner when you cannot defend one and Jurgen Klopp is increasingly aware that his rear-guard is holding Liverpool back at the moment," says the newspaper. "Even in victory and without his glasses... the German could spot a glaring problem – his team simply cannot deal with set-pieces."
The Reds' defence appears to have " psychological problems" dealing with set-pieces, says the Daily Telegraph, adding: "The flip side was that the goals conceded gave Liverpool the chance to show they have the firepower to fight back in the most challenging of circumstances."
But as Klopp noted afterwards, his side would probably not have scored five goals had they not conceded four. "One wonders what reception Liverpool's players would have got from Klopp had it stayed 4-4, such was his demeanour, and his side masked some common inefficiencies in taking three points," says the BBC.
Liverpool were not only disorganised and nervous at the back, they also lacked the nous to close the game down after recovering from 3-1 down to take a 4-3 lead late in the second half, notes The Times. The Canaries equalised in stoppage time only for Liverpool to snatch a late, late winner.
However, a win is a win and the Reds can take heart from the result. "It sounds simple but winning is so crucial to a team’s development. After the defeat by Manchester United last weekend, a game which Liverpool dominated but failed to find a way to win, they showed their appetite for a fight," says James Masters of The Times. "While Manchester United supporters are struggling to stay awake at Old Trafford watching their team sleepwalk into mediocrity under Louis van Gaal, Klopp has brought his style of entertaining football to Anfield."
