Christian Benteke hits out at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp over lack of playing time

klopp and benteke
Benteke has struggled for regular playing time under Jurgen Klopp

Following Liverpool’s dramatic 3-2 loss to Southampton, Jurgen Klopp was seen berating Christain Benteke on the pitch itself. The Belgium international joined in a £32.5 million deal from Aston Villa last July, but after eight goals in 35 appearances, Liverpool might already be ready to offload the striker in the summer transfer window.

“Some team-mates have said that I was lucky with the arrival of Klopp, because I certainly would play,” Benteke told Sport/Voetbalmagazine.

“When your coach says he wanted to take you to Dortmund and a little later you sit at the same club and he ignores you, it is hard to understand.”

It has been suggested that Benteke does not suit Klopp’s high pressing and intense style of play, but the Belgian dismissed such suggestions saying Liverpool were not a team like Barcelona.

"I do not understand why people say that,” he said.

“I can play pressing and moving a lot. It is not that we play in the Barcelona style.”

John Barnes says Klopp cannot make Liverpool invincible

Jurgen Klopp was appointed by the Fenway Sports Group as the manager of Liverpool in October 2015 following the sacking of Brendan Rodgers, who guided the Reds to a second-place finish back in the 2013-14 season.

Liverpool football club – once “a bastion of invincibility” – however, has performed quite decently under its German manager. The club finished as runners-up in its Capital One Cup campaign and still has an outside chance to finish in the top four in the Barclays Premier League.

Having said that, in a recent interview, the former Liverpool player and England international, John Barnes told “Well, he’s not going to bring Liverpool back to the glory days in terms of winning the league every year and winning the European Cup. That’s not going to happen anywhere because in England you’re going to see a change of Leicester winning it this year, maybe Tottenham.”

“I don’t think you’re going to have one team dominating as Liverpool did in the 1970-80s. It’s not a question of bringing Liverpool back to the glory days of winning the league every year,” he added.

John Barnes played for the Merseyside club for almost a decade since his transfer from Watford in 1987. The 52-year-old former left-winger of Jamaican origin had featured in 314 Liverpool league games finding the back of the net 84 times. He was also a part of the Liverpool team which had won their last Football League First Division title back in the 1989-90 season.

However, the times have changed for the Merseyside club since then and currently it is placed at the number nine spot on the Premier League table having secured only 44 points after 29 matches. Nevertheless, Liverpool have had quite a decent outing in other competitions. They lost to Manchester City on penalties during the Capital One Cup final at Wembley.

Also, the Reds have advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the UEFA Europa League after beating their archrivals, Manchester United on an aggregate score of 3-1. The English football club has been pitted against Klopp’s former side Borussia Dortmund in the last eight level of the European competition.

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