Jurgen Klopp has come in for criticism on social media after suggesting strong winds made it difficult for Liverpool in their 2-1 FA Cup defeat by Wolves.
Plenty took to social media to mock the Reds manager for what they perceived to be a weak excuse.
Klopp made sweeping changes to the team and included a number of inexperienced teenagers in the line-up.
Ruben Neves blasted the winner after Divock Origi cancelled out Raul Jimenez’s opener and Klopp lamented his side’s inability to dictate play.
He said: ‘The wind didn’t help, everybody on the pitch struggled to control, first touches were tough. We lost a lot of balls.’
One Twitter user condemned Klopp’s assessment as a ‘childish excuse’, with a frustrated Manchester United supporter saying the German ‘always’ had an excuse for losing.
Some chimed in referencing other times Klopp has argued that conditions made it more difficult.
One user said he’d blamed the sun last season and another added that he cited long grass on the Etihad Stadium pitch for the 2-1 defeat by Manchester City, though there is no evidence to support this.
Klopp confessed that he has seen his young talents fare better in training than they did under the bright lights on Monday.
‘We are not here to be the new world record holder for youngest team, they are good enough,’ he added.
‘They train with us, 10 vs 10 and believe me they play much better than they did tonight.
‘These boys all played because they are good enough. They did well but they can do much better.’
Fenway Sports Group has invested heavily in Klopp and this Liverpool side since he arrived on Merseyside three years ago. Klopp has delivered two cup finals, but no trophies, during that time and the clock must surely be ticking on Klopp delivering a trophy to Merseyside.