# Sports

‘At the final whistle close the book’: Jurgen Klopp hits back at Frank Lampard’s ‘arrogant’ remark

The brawl had started when the referee gave Liverpool a controversial free-kick during the mid-week fixture between the champions and Chelsea.

SNS | New Delhi | July 25, 2020 12:56 pm

‘At the final whistle close the book’: Jurgen Klopp hits back at Frank Lampard’s ‘arrogant’ remark

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit back at his Chelsea counterpart after the latter accused the Reds of being “arrogant” since winning the English Premier League. Klopp said that Liverpool are “the opposite” of what Lampard thinks and asked him to not drag the on-field spat further.

“We are not arrogant, we are pretty much the opposite. But in a moment like this in an argument, you want to say something to hurt the other person. I have no problem with that but at the final whistle close the book. He didn’t do that and that is what I don’t like,” Goal.com quoted Klopp as saying.

“You cannot hit me and my bench with something like that because we are not arrogant. Frank was obviously in a really competitive mood and I respect that a lot. From my point of view in this sort of situation, you can say pretty much what you want. For me, after the game it is completely over,” the Premier League manager added.

The brawl had started when the referee gave Liverpool a controversial free-kick during the mid-week fixture between the champions and Chelsea. The referee thought that Mateo Kovacic had fouled Sadio Mane but replay showed that it was a successful tackle from the Croatian.

As Trent Alexander-Arnold curled in a perfect spot-kick to extend Liverpool’s lead in the match, Chelsea players were left fuming and Lampard was seen hurling abuses at Klopp in the sidelines at Anfield.

“For me, it wasn’t a foul from Kovacic, and there were a lot of things that weren’t going our way. But I’ve not got a problem with Jurgen Klopp. The way he’s managed this team has been fantastic,” the Chelsea boss was quoted as saying to Sky Sports after the match.

“Fair play to Liverpool football club, they’ve won the league, but also don’t get too arrogant with it. That was my point, but it’s done. In match play, you can get emotional and that was it.”

Meanwhile, after the high-voltage drama on Wednesday, which Liverpool won 5-3, they were handed their first Premier League trophy in 30 years.