Klopp unhappy with Anfield atmosphere ahead of Arsenal’s visit

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he was unhappy with the home support during their 5-1 League Cup win over West Ham United and urged fans to give their tickets away if they are not in the “right shape” for Arsenal’s visit at the weekend.

Liverpool had missed the chance to go top of the league on Sunday after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United but they blew away West Ham to book a record 19th appearance in the Cup semis on Wednesday.

Despite Liverpool’s dominance, Klopp thought the atmosphere was lacking at Anfield.

“It’s long ago that I said this — but I thought the first half a little bit, when the boys played really exceptional[ly], I was not overly happy ... with the atmosphere behind me,” Klopp told reporters.

“We changed a lot of things. We dominated West Ham like crazy. We missed chances.

“If I would be in the stand I would be on my toes, 1,000%.”

Liverpool partly opened their newly revamped Anfield Road Stand for the first time on Sunday, bumping up the attendance to 57,000 — the largest for 50 years at their stadium.

With leaders Arsenal set to visit on Saturday, Klopp said getting the right atmosphere was crucial.

“We need Anfield on their toes from the first second without me having an argument with the opposition coach.

“We need you from the first second,” he added.

“If it’s too much football in December, I don’t know. Sorry we have to play it as well.

“But if you are not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else.”

Curtis Jones scored twice and Liverpool booked a record 19th appearance in the League Cup semifinals with a 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and talisman Mohamed Salah, who did not enter the game until it was an hour old, also scored in what unravelled into a rout in the final 20 minutes.

Szoboszlai netted in the 28th minute with a thunderous strike from 20 yards that sailed into the far corner.

Jones doubled Liverpool’s lead with his first goal minutes into the second half after a give-and-go with Darwin Nunez, sprinting onto Nunez’s pass to one-time his shot through keeper Alphonse Areola’s legs.

Gakpo scored from the top of the 18-yard box before Jarrod Bowen pulled one back for the Hammers in the 77th minute.

Salah put the game away in the 82nd minute and Jones completed his brace two minutes later, slashing through West Ham’s defence with such ease it had manager David Moyes seething with anger.

West Ham were in for a tough night against the nine-time League Cup champions even before the opening whistle, hampered by illness ahead of the game and having only won once in the cauldron of Anfield in 60 years.

Reuters