This archive report was first published on 24 August 2021.
On August 23, 2021, a heated exchange between Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Burnley manager Sean Dyche took place following a Premier League match at Anfield.
During the match, Klopp's Liverpool secured a 2-0 win over Burnley, but the German manager was not pleased with the officials' handling of the game, particularly the physicality of the Burnley players.
Klopp singled out Burnley strikers Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, stating that he was 'not 100 per cent sure if we are really going in the right direction with these kind of decisions' and stressing the need to protect players.
However, Dyche was unhappy with Klopp for publicly criticising his players, saying, 'My disappointment is he is name-checking players. There is absolutely no need to do that.'
Dyche also expressed his concern that Klopp's comments implied that his players were untoward in their challenges, which he believed was 'wrong' and 'inappropriate.'
He added that his main worry was that Klopp was questioning the approach of teams trying to win games within the laws, which he believed was not the case in the match between Burnley and Liverpool.
