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Klopp Can Use the Failure of VAR to Fuel Success at Brighton

After a dramatic, traumatic, and ultimately devastating game of football at the weekend, the Liverpool squad must now regroup and move on from the debacle created by VAR. The ineptitude of the officials on Saturday evening was astounding, yet there could be a silver lining that carries this 2.0 version to greater heights. Last season we witnessed Granit Xhaka and his antics rile and antagonize a wounded Anfield group (when Arsenal visited Anfield), which brought a determination back to the players who had looked tired and uninspired for so long. This 2023/24 Premier League campaign has already seen a renewed vigour within a transitioned squad that has both the ability and the want to achieve great things. My hope is that the ridiculous way this current team was treated (versus Spurs) and the way by which they lost, will create a bond and a collective atmosphere that can help achieve ultimate success.

This midweek sees the six-time European Champions host Belgium Pro League side, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. That Thursday night game will see a much-changed side, given the impending trip to face Brighton on Sunday afternoon. That battle at the American Express Stadium will pit Jürgen Klopp against yet another brilliant and revolutionary football coach, much like when he faced off against Ange Postecoglou at White Hart Lane. The Seagulls head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, is someone that has taken English football by storm since much-changed arrival at Brighton at the start of last season. As the footballing world approaches yet another adjustment in the hierarchy of world class coaches, the Italian manager is someone that will be in the mix to one day helm Liverpool Football Club, thus replacing his forthcoming opponent. The ex-Napoli player offers a refreshing and exciting means of portraying his footballing wants, which makes the 44-year-old former Shakhtar Donetsk manager someone that will one inspire younger managers, much like Jürgen Klopp has done himself.

Is the Weekend Visit to Brighton a Must Win for Klopp?

I would say yes, especially after being unable to garner anything from their previous game. The ease by which Brighton outplayed the reds last season will have haunted our glorious German manager, therefore, I can see nothing more than a full out assault to outplay and overcome the opposition. The great start to the season by both sides was undone in the last round of games, as De Zerbi’s men fell to a disastrous 6-1 loss away to Aston Villa. With the reds also losing their own match to unbelievable circumstances, game week eight sets up a tantalizing encounter between two coaches who will be desperate for an immediate return to winning ways. 6th placed Albion will have the hurt from their demolition to drive themselves forward, yet I can see the anger within their visiting adversary’s being more beneficial to finding both rhythm and form. Both teams are wounded in defeat, which makes for an unpredictable spectacle ahead. If Liverpool are to truly explore their silverware opportunities this year, those kinds of losses (to Spurs) need to be standalone moments, unlike last year where they merely manifested.

A Magnificent Tactical Battle Awaits, One That May Just Match the On-Pitch Battle

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