Jurgen Klopp laughed along on the touchline as the Tottenham goals flew in before letting rip with a furious critique of Liverpool’s defensive shambles.
Klopp claimed he could have done better himself to prevent the first of four Spurs goals, the second was too ‘easy’ and the third was ‘another present’.
‘The first would not happen if I was on the pitch but I am in the middle of the technical area in my trainers,’ said the Liverpool boss as he fumed about Harry Kane’s fourth-minute opener, which set the tone.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shows his frustration during the second half at Wembley
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson shouts at Joel Matip (right) as Dejan Lovren watches on
‘It is unbelievably easy to defend, to close the space, we only have to clear the ball, shoe it, we don’t do it.
‘Do we need to be prepared for a situation like this? Yes, and we usually are. Each job is clear but we did not do it. I cannot fix it here but we will fix it. We have to work on it.
‘We have to prove we are better defenders than we showed. It’s not as if Tottenham needed to be genius to get through us. We have three unbelievably big scoresheets — against Watford (3-3), Man City (0-5) and today — and 12 goals conceded, that’s crazy.’
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren endured a terrible afternoon up against Harry Kane
Liverpool have conceded 16 goals in their first nine Premier League games, their leakiest start to a campaign since 1964.
‘It’s our responsibility 100 per cent,’ said Klopp. ‘Let’s not deny the statistic. We saw two teams with a lot of potential but in the decisive moments we were not there.
‘It’s difficult because I don’t want to create headlines which don’t help but it was poor defending in all the decisive parts.’
Son Heung-min scored the second in the 12th minute, on the break from Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who had caught a free-kick from James Milner.
Kane celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal of the game in the 4-1 win over Liverpool
‘We have to protect the offensive things we do,’ said Klopp. ‘We all know Tottenham will play into areas like this. It is not a bad cross but we miss the moment and it was not possible for counter-pressing.
‘Normally Dejan Lovren would make the header but he missed the ball. Son is in a better position and he is very quick, so it’s an easy ball. We put it on a plate.’
When Mohamed Salah reduced the deficit to 2-1, the game was ‘on the table’ according to Klopp, but Spurs scored their third in first-half stoppage-time when Joel Matip headed a free-kick down for Dele Alli.
‘Another present,’ sighed the Liverpool boss. ‘We have the ball and lose it and give them a free-kick. Then it’s a free-kick going nowhere and we make the header and nobody is there for the second ball.
Mohamed Salah reduced the deficit to 2-1. At that point Klopp believed his side had a chance
‘All so obvious and always bad. We had chances but you can’t get results with a performance like this against a team like Tottenham who were completely spot on. We weren’t and that’s my responsibility. I don’t want to say anything positive about us.’
The Liverpool boss replaced centre half Lovren after half an hour in an attempt to stop his team leaking goals but Kane added the fourth in the second half.
‘Dejan was no worse than the others,’ said Klopp. ‘We had to change something. We had to be more stable. I could have taken another off. We still conceded two more after he left the pitch. Nobody should feel good at the moment.’
This crushing defeat leaves Liverpool trailing 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.
‘We can’t talk top four,’ said Klopp. ‘We are ninth with the worst statistic since 1964, I can’t believe it. We are where we are and we deserve that. The only way to fix it is to stay strong and work on it. That’s what we’ll do. We have to show a reaction.’
Klopp decided to substitute Lovren after just half an hour had been played in the game