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Peter Schmeichel accuses Jurgen Klopp of throwing Dejan Lovren under a bus

Peter Schmeichel reserved his criticism for Jurgen Klopp
Peter Schmeichel reserved his criticism for Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp 'killed' Dejan Lovren by substituting him in the first half of Liverpool 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, according to former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

Lovren was at fault for Tottenham's first two goals, trying to play offside in the build-up to Harry Kane's opener and getting caught under a long ball as Son fired Spurs into a 2-0 lead.

Klopp hooked the Romanian on the half-hour mark, replacing him with summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

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Working as a television pundit, Schmeichel said: "It's very important to underline that he never said anything to him and he's killed that player.

"And in fact it hasn't helped, they are still defending like it's their first time ever....

Lovren - Credit: AFP
Lovren was caught out twice in Liverpool's loss at SpursCredit: AFP

"The way they defend today and have been defending all season is no naive and Jurgen Klopp needs to take responsibility.

"What he's done now is put all of the responsibility on to Lovren. He will now be in the headlines for this, and that's really unfair. It should be the manager."

Liverpool's decision to not buy a defender in the summer has come under fierce scrutiny, after their long-term pursuit of Virgil Van Dijk reached a dead end.

Schmeichel's former Man Utd teammate Gary Neville was also exasperated by the standard of Liverpool's defending, and their goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

"[Klopp's] centre-backs and his goalkeeper will always kill him. They're not good enough," Neville said.

"No matter how good they are going forward, they will always let you down.

"When I think of Lovren playing under Mauricio Pochettino (at Southampton), he was one of the best centre-backs in the league. Now I look at him, he’s completely different."