Jose Mourinho would consider introducing diving lessons for his Roma stars because he fears the only way they will win penalties is by "playing the clown".
The head coach was red-carded in Sunday's 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta after wildly protesting when Nicolo Zaniolo went down in the 55th minute under a challenge from Caleb Okoli but did not get a penalty.
Mourinho was adamant his team deserved a spot-kick for that incident, and he also wanted one in the first half for another challenge on Zaniolo, when Merih Demiral appeared to foul the Roma forward.
Zaniolo stumbled on and got back to his feet after tangling with Demiral, and the referee's refusal to point to the spot on that occasion appeared to fuel Mourinho's later tirade.
By marching onto the pitch, gesturing and yelling complaints, Mourinho left referee Daniele Chiffi with little option but to send him to the stands.
"I tried to speak to Chiffi after the game," said Mourinho. "If a referee tells me that it can never be a penalty if a player does not fall over, then I will have to start telling my players to fall over. I asked him to tell me why he had not given a penalty, but Chiffi did not give me a clear answer.
"Well, he said that it was a matter of interpretation. But for me it's not interpretation; it's a penalty and that's it. The player can still continue the action and then they can go back and give a penalty.
"I want to be the best coach I can be – if we need to instead start playing the clown and pretend that we are at the swimming pool, then I will change the training we do."
Mourinho's team won a penalty in their previous Serie A game against Empoli, which Lorenzo Pellegrini missed.
Replays for the second-half incident on Sunday suggested Zaniolo and Okoli were grappling at each other's shirt long before the Roma man went to ground.
Mourinho was asked whether he expected further action over what was seen as an angry outburst.
Quoted on Roma's official website, the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss said: "Angry? I went on the pitch and if the rules say that I cannot then I must be sent off – and there's nothing more to it than that. Let's not make up things that didn't happen.”
Giorgio Scalvini scored the game's only goal in the 35th minute, a smart side-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area that arrowed through a crowd of players and found the bottom-right corner.
It puts Atalanta second at the end of the seventh round of Serie A games, with Napoli overtaking them on goal difference on Sunday evening after winning 2-1 at Milan. Roma sit sixth, four points behind the top two.
Stefano Pioli bemoaned Milan's wastefulness in front of goal as their 22-match unbeaten streak in Serie A ended with a 2-1 defeat to Napoli on Sunday.
Matteo Politano put Napoli ahead from the penalty spot after Sergino Dest's clumsy foul on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Olivier Giroud pulled Milan level in the 69th minute, but Giovanni Simeone headed home a winner in the 78th minute to ensure Napoli returned to the Serie A summit.
Milan had 22 shots to Napoli's nine, but Pioli says that is scant consolation after watching his side suffer a first league defeat of the campaign.
"I am not satisfied at all and neither should my players be," he told DAZN. "We only scored one goal, which isn't enough for all that we created.
"It's disappointing because nights can happen when the opponents play better, but in this case we really shouldn't have lost.
"I hope we will learn from this to be more clinical in front of goal because we did everything right except for errors and a lack of determination in both penalty areas.
"I could have said I was very happy because we played better than Napoli and created lots of chances, but seeing as we were the only side unbeaten in Europe's top five leagues for 22 matches – longer than Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid – it's a shame to lose it with a performance like that.
"On Simeone's goal we had too many players attacking the man with the ball, forcing Messias to sit deeper, which freed up Mario Rui.
"It's difficult to blame our defensive movements when Napoli only really had that chance. I am more bitter about the lack of chances that we converted.
"We allowed very little to a side that usually creates and scores a lot of goals. It's true we are conceding too many at the moment and need to work on that, but my concern is more up front."
Milan, who dropped down to fifth following the defeat, travel to Empoli on October 1 following the international break.
Napoli returned to the Serie A summit as Giovanni Simeone's 78th-minute header sealed a 2-1 win over previously unbeaten Milan at San Siro on Sunday.
Milan had 11 shots to Napoli's three in a dominant first half, but the visitors went ahead shortly after the break when Matteo Politano stroked home from 12 yards following Sergino Dest's clumsy foul on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Olivier Giroud pulled Milan level in the 69th minute, but substitute Simeone popped with the winner to seal a huge victory for Luciano Spalletti's side, who remain unbeaten in the league this season.
The result means Napoli leapfrogged Udinese and Atalanta at the top of the table, while Milan dropped down to fifth after a first Serie A defeat in 23 games.
[21:43] guyatkinson (Guest)
Milan started strongly and were denied a 13th-minute lead when Giroud's strike from 12 yards was superbly tipped onto the crossbar by Alex Meret.
The Napoli goalkeeper was called into action again shortly before the half-hour mark when he pushed over Rade Krunic's header from a corner.
Napoli offered almost no attacking threat in the first half, yet they went ahead 10 minutes after the interval when Politano scored from the spot after substitute Dest had fouled Kvaratskhelia – the decision given after referee Maurizio Mariani was told to check the pitch-side monitor by VAR.
Meret denied Junior Messias soon after, before Giroud pulled Milan level with a simple finish from eight yards after fine work down the left by Theo Hernandez.
Their joy was short-lived, however, as Simeone stole into the area to glance home Mario Rui's cross from the left wing.
Milan should have snatched a point with four minutes remaining, yet substitute Pierre Kalulu inexplicably crashed against the crossbar with only Meret to beat from eight yards.
Jose Mourinho was sent off in a fit of fury as his Roma side lost 1-0 at home to Atalanta in Serie A.
The head coach was seething after his side were denied a penalty in the 55th minute when Nicolo Zaniolo went over under a challenge from Caleb Okoli.
Replays suggested both players were grappling at each other's shirt long before Zaniolo went to ground, and referee Daniele Chiffi waved away the appeals.
Mourinho joined his players in protesting against the decision, running onto the pitch and shouting and pointing at Chiffi, before the referee brandished the red card his way.
Giorgio Scalvini scored the game's only goal in the 35th minute, a smart side-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area that arrowed through a crowd of players and found the bottom-right corner.
Roma have now lost two of their past three Serie A matches, as many defeats as they had suffered in the previous 21 (11W, 8D), and they sit sixth in the table after seven rounds of the season.
Atalanta's win took the visitors top of the table, at least temporarily ahead of Sunday's late game between Napoli and Milan, both of whom had a chance to jump to the summit.
The victory lifted Atalanta to 17 points from their opening seven Serie A games, a points record for the club at this stage of the season, one better than they achieved in the 2019-20 campaign.
They have kept clean sheets in all four of their away games so far, with Sunday's success following previous shutouts in wins at Sampdoria, Hellas Verona and Monza. Atalanta have only twice previously had four consecutive clean sheets in away games, in 1997 and 2016.
It's a bit early in the season to call Napoli's trip to Milan a "title clash" given we're only six games in, but for the Partenopei it is clearly an opportunity to make a statement.
Luciano Spalletti, a former Milan coach, has guided Napoli to 14 points from their first six matches, and they sit top of the fledgling table ahead of Atalanta and the Rossoneri on goal difference.
While Milan have already beaten bitter rivals Inter this term, Napoli haven't had the chance for such a signal of intent – at least, not in Serie A.
But neither Spalletti nor Stefano Pioli will be able to rely on their star men in San Siro on Sunday, adding to the unpredictability of a match that promises excitement.
Sorely missed
Rafael Leao and Victor Osimhen will miss this contest due to suspension and injury, respectively. Both absences are bitter blows to not only the teams, but fans tuning in.
Leao has been an especially key figure for Milan over the past year or so. Since the start of last season, he has played in 40 out of a possible 44 matches, with only Alexis Saelemaekers and Sandro Tonali (both 41) appearing more regularly.
Their win percentage with him stands at 70, while they average 2.3 points with Leao on the pitch. Of the four games he has missed, Milan have only won two.
Over the same period, Osimhen has missed 12 league games for Napoli. Their win rate increases from 58.3 per cent to 65.6 per cent when he plays, and their goals average goes up to 2.2 from 1.5 per game. Similarly, he's the only current Napoli player to score 10 or more Serie A goals (16) in that time.
The opportunity is there for others to step up in their absence.
At home on the road
As their position at the Serie A summit suggests, Napoli have enjoyed a fine start to the season, and their Champions League demolition of Liverpool made even more people sit up and take note.
Any successful team cannot just rely on a vociferous home support, however, and Napoli have made decent early strides in that regard, amassing seven points from their first three away Serie A games.
If they can avoid defeat on Sunday, they'll be unbeaten after the first four away games in an Italian top-flight season for the third campaign in succession, a feat no team has ever achieved before.
Granted, Milan's recent home form is decent, having won six on the trot in San Siro, which is their best run since 2013 (eight successive wins). But it was Napoli who ended that run, and the Partenopei are also hoping to rack up three consecutive away league victories over Milan for the first time in 43 years.
Party up front, business in the back
Yes, that's not quite how the saying goes, but this altered phrase is more applicable to Napoli. They have been exciting to watch going forward this term, with Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Andre-Franck Zambo Aguissa and Piotr Zielinski all catching the eye on the offensive.
But credit where it's due to Spalletti's side when they're not on the attack, as Napoli have been solid defensively.
Stretching back into last season, they have kept six clean sheets in their past nine Serie A games, including three in six this term.
Even when they have conceded, Napoli possess the necessary mentality – and ability – to fight back, with their six points gained from losing positions second only to Milan's seven in 2022-23.
Milan unbeaten, Napoli with everything to prove
Milan's title success last season was helped massively by their exceptionally strong end to the campaign.
They finished 2021-22 with six successive wins and went on an undefeated run that stretched back to January 17 when they suffered a shock 2-1 loss at home to Spezia.
Milan have since stretched that unbeaten streak to 22 league games, which is their longest such run since a 27-match undefeated run ended in January 2021.
That form highlights the task that Napoli face on Sunday, though by the same token, being the team to halt such a sequence would surely show Spalletti's team mean business.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst claimed the scoreline did not offer a true reflection of Rangers' performance after they succumbed to a 3-0 Champions League defeat at home to Napoli.
Second-half goals from Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele condemned Rangers to a third consecutive defeat on Wednesday after James Sands was dismissed for two bookable offences.
The defeat could have been heavier had Allan McGregor not twice denied Piotr Zielinski from the penalty spot following a VAR check for encroachment.
Politano then tucked away his opener from 12 yards, as Napoli became just the third side to be awarded multiple penalties in back-to-back Champions League fixtures (after Chelsea in 2020 and Salzburg in 2021).
Despite Rangers' defensive shortcomings, Van Bronckhorst believes they competed well before being reduced to 10 men.
"I think we were well organised, we were good in the game, the players were giving everything to get a good result," he said.
"It was a nice battle to see, Napoli against Rangers, but of course with the sending off you knew it was going to be difficult.
"Allan saved us twice with the penalties, which was fantastic, but the first goal we conceded made me change the way we were playing because we needed to attack.
"In the end I think the 3-0 defeat didn't reflect the difference in quality today and how the game went on."
This is just the second time Rangers have begun a Champions League group-stage campaign with back-to-back defeats, also doing so in 1996-97 under Walter Smith.
But Van Bronckhorst saw a clear improvement following last week's 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Ajax, adding: "We will learn with every single game we play in the Champions League, if you see the comparison between the first game against Ajax and today, I think we played so much better, with so much intensity, so much character.
"I think we learned from the game last week, the level, the speed of thinking needs to go up. I think we equalled that today when 11 against 11.
"The quality Napoli has with one extra, it was very difficult for us. We wanted to stay in the game longer but the first goal made us change the personnel. You have to always end with 11 in Europe, otherwise it's a difficult task."
Rangers are also five points adrift of rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, having slipped to a 3-0 defeat in the first Old Firm derby of the campaign earlier this month.
Despite being impressed with their performance against Napoli, Van Bronckhorst knows they must arrest their slide quickly, adding: "Of course, you're always concerned when you concede too many goals, but every defeat is a defeat.
"The manner of the defeat today was different to the first two defeats. But in the end, it's still a defeat, and we cannot accept three defeats in a row."
Napoli needed three attempts to beat Allan McGregor from the spot before coasting past 10-man Rangers 3-0 in the Champions League.
Rangers defied UEFA to go ahead with pre-match plans to sing God Save The King before the game following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The emotional atmosphere lifted Rangers early on and Alfredo Morelos skewed a close-range header wide. Piotr Zielinski then cracked the post at the other end before Scott Arfield drew a fine save out of Alex Meret.
Yet Rangers' good work in the first half was undone by a chaotic second period, in which 40-year-old McGregor played a starring role.
James Sands was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Giovanni Simeone as he broke into the box. Zielinski's subsequent penalty was brilliantly turned away by McGregor but only as far as Matteo Politano, who finished from a tight angle.
However, Politano was deemed to have encroached before the penalty was taken and McGregor produced heroics from the retake to thwart the Poland international.
McGregor, though, could not deny Napoli a third time after Borna Barisic was deemed to have handled in the area, Politano's penalty squeaking under his hand and into the bottom-right corner.
Giacomo Raspadori fired home a late second after a one-two with fellow substitute Mathias Olivera and Tanguy Ndombele added further gloss to the scoreline before Rangers had a penalty overturned by VAR as Napoli moved three points at the top of Group A.
Rangers will play the national anthem ahead of the Champions League clash against Napoli, seemingly defying direction from UEFA.
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday has impacted the football schedule, with the weekend's action being called off and a period of silence set to take place before this week's continental matches involving British sides – except in the game between Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic.
Ahead of the match, Rangers confirmed they would pay respects with an additional tribute, with the national anthem to be played before kick-off in Glasgow.
"Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be honoured this evening at Ibrox with a minute's silence, a display created by the Union Bears, and a rendition of the Nation Anthem," Rangers said on Twitter.
"If you are attending tonight's match, we encourage all supporters to be in their seat for 19:50."
In a statement issued to Stats Perform, UEFA declared that no anthems would be played in this week's fixtures, including the Champions League anthem.
UEFA's statement read: "There will be no anthems played – this also includes the UEFA Champions League anthem – on the basis of maintaining a consistent pre-match ceremony with a subdued atmosphere and without any celebratory activities across all UK venues to show respect as we did last Thursday."
Rangers were set to face Napoli on Tuesday, but the match was pushed back to Wednesday due to the difficulties of staging such an event in Glasgow while the Queen's procession moved through Scotland.
Bayern Munich supporters protested against football fans being impacted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II during their Champions League fixture against Barcelona, unfurling a banner that called for authorities to "respect fans".
The Premier League postponed a full fixture programme last weekend following the passing of the UK's longest-reigning monarch, with the English Football League doing likewise.
While English top-flight football will resume on Friday, Manchester United's match against Leeds United, as well as Liverpool's trip to Chelsea, will not take place due to policing concerns on the weekend of the Queen's funeral.
The situation has also impacted European football; Arsenal's Europa League clash with PSV has been called off, while Rangers' Champions League meeting with Napoli was pushed back by one day.
Policing issues also mean Napoli are unable to take any supporters to Scotland for that match, which coach Luciano Spalletti described as a "real penalty" on Tuesday.
Against this backdrop, Bayern's fans displayed a message in the 26th minute of their match against Barcelona, which read: "Last-minute match delays and bans because of a royal's death? Respect fans!"
Second-half goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane helped Bayern to a 2-0 win over the Blaugrana, maintaining their perfect start to the Champions League campaign.
Rangers and Napoli's Champions League tie has been delayed by a day over limited police resources following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, UEFA has confirmed.
The pair were set to play their second group stage encounter on September 13, having got their campaigns underway last week with defeat to Ajax and victory over Liverpool respectively.
But now the duo will see their game postponed by 24 hours in order to facilitate a lack of officers amid a nationwide shuffle following the monarch's passing, aged 96, at her Balmoral home on September 8.
In addition, Napoli fans will not be allowed to travel to the match, while Rangers supporters in turn will be barred from making the trip to Italy for the return fixture later this year.
"The UEFA Champions League tie between Rangers FC and SSC Napoli, originally to be played on Tuesday 13 September, has been rescheduled for Wednesday 14 September at 21.00CET," read a UEFA statement.
"This is due to the severe limitations on police resources and organisational issues related to the ongoing events surrounding the national mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"In addition, it was agreed to also postpone the UEFA Youth League game between both teams from Tuesday 13 September to Wednesday 14 September at 15.00CET.
"Away fans will not be authorised at the games, and as a matter of sporting fairness, Rangers’ fans will not be authorised for the return legs in Naples.
"UEFA urges fans not to travel and to respect this extraordinary situation."
The news casts further doubt on a return to action next weekend for football across Britain, with the Premier League potentially facing a double-weekend blackout ahead of the state funeral on September 19.
Stefano Pioli "will work something out" after the "decisive figure" of Rafael Leao was ruled out of next weekend's clash with Napoli following a red card in the 2-1 win over Sampdoria.
Leao had been sensational in the first half at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, setting up Junior Messias' sixth-minute opener with one of three key passes – a total not bettered by anyone on the pitch.
However, his match ended just two minutes into the second half when he received a second booking after he struck Alex Ferrari in the face when attempting an overhead kick.
Samp pulled level through Filip Djuricic, but Milan sealed a fourth win in six Serie A games this season when Olivier Giroud powered home from the penalty spot after Gonzalo Villar had handled in the area.
The champions have now won three successive Serie A games against Sampdoria for the first time since September 2016.
Second-placed Milan are level on points with leaders Napoli, who visit San Siro on Sunday, and Pioli accepted he might have to play a different way in the absence of Leao.
"Both teams are missing a lot, but we're missing Leao and Ante Rebic; both players who cover that role," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"We had to play 50 minutes with 10 men. We know there's a big Champions League game coming up [at home to Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday], so we'll focus on that first and then see what to do against Napoli.
"Rafa is becoming a decisive figure in our attack, but we have other alternatives and will work something out with different characteristics.
"I saw Leao joking around a lot in the warm-up, but I told him he tends to play well when he's that relaxed and he said 'don't worry, boss'. In hindsight, I should've worried.
"It's disappointing. I had told him to be careful on the yellow, but he wanted to attempt this move. Never mind, someone else will play."
Samp went agonisingly close to rescuing a point in a late scramble as Mike Maignan twice denied Manolo Gabbiadini either side of a Fabio Quagliarella effort that struck the post.
Pioli was thrilled with his side's ability to grind out the result and believes it is evidence they are moving in the right direction.
"We played a good first half and could've scored more goals, but this was a hard-fought victory," he added.
"We had to grit our teeth when we went down to 10 men and the lads worked hard on every ball. Sampdoria had already drawn with Juventus and Lazio here, so it was by no means easy.
"We had told ourselves we wanted to make fewer technical errors and I think we did that today, so we're on the right track."
Former Juventus coach Fabio Capello thinks the Bianconeri enjoyed the best transfer window of any Serie A club, but still believes they are not favourites to lift the Scudetto.
Juventus have claimed two wins and three draws during a solid if unspectacular start to the new season, and have faced criticism for their ponderous style of play under Massimiliano Allegri.
Their underwhelming performances have come in the aftermath of a window in which the Turin giants acquired Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria, Gleison Bremer, Filip Kostic and Leandro Paredes.
Capello was impressed by their recruitment, particularly with the decision to replace Matthijs de Ligt with Bremer, but does not believe they will win their first title since 2019-20 this season.
Speaking to SportWeek, Capello said: "Looking at the names, Juventus were the winners.
"They had a top summer with Di Maria, Pogba, Paredes, all champions that other teams don't have. Bremer is better than de Ligt on a defensive level.
"Juve have invested in quality, catching up with Inter and Milan. Without the new players they're already among the top teams, while the others lost players."
However, when asked for his title favourites, Capello added: "It's still Inter, even though they lost [Ivan] Perisic and have [Romelu] Lukaku injured. The Belgian is the market coup of the summer.
"Milan made an important effort for [Charles] De Ketelaere, whom I confess I don't know.
"Napoli have replaced the departing players with good alternatives. Lazio will also be one to watch."
Juventus spent an estimated €105million during the transfer window, more than any other club in the Italian top-flight.
However, they have been beset by injury troubles in recent weeks, with a knee injury threatening to rule Pogba out of the upcoming World Cup and a thigh problem continuing to plague Di Maria.
Napoli were not interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo in the recent transfer window due to their desire to build a younger side, according to sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli.
Ronaldo reportedly declared his intention to leave Manchester United after they missed out on Champions League qualification last season, but he failed to complete a transfer before the end of the window.
The likes of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid ruled out a move for the 37-year-old Portuguese legend after being touted as potential destinations, while Napoli were also linked.
Ronaldo has only started one of United's six Premier League games this season, playing just 207 minutes of league football under Erik ten Hag.
Napoli, meanwhile, have made a bright start to their Serie A campaign despite losing the likes of Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, and Giuntoli believes a move for Ronaldo would not have fitted with the club's transfer policy.
"During the transfer market we pretend to chat with everyone, and sometimes we do it for real," he said on Friday.
"But we wanted to invest in a young team."
Napoli were also linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas after selling midfielder Fabian Ruiz to the French giants, but Giuntoli does not see that deal being revived.
"PSG were interested in Fabian, whom we had to sell, we could bring a high-level goalkeeper to Naples to work alongside [Alex] Meret. In the end, the operation was closed.
"They did not find an agreement on the salary with the player and we knew we had a binding ceiling that we do not breach for anyone."
Asked whether Navas would be targeted in January, he said: "No, we trust Meret. We are happy that he stayed and against Liverpool he had a great game. Enduring the pressure of the summer did him good."
Napoli remain unbeaten in Serie A this season and made a scintillating start to their Champions League campaign by thrashing Liverpool 4-1 on Wednesday.
But Luciano Spalletti's men suffered a blow when striker Victor Osimhen hobbled off shortly before the break, and the club have now confirmed the Nigeria international suffered a hamstring injury.
"As scheduled, Victor Osimhen underwent diagnostic tests this morning which revealed a second degree injury to his right hamstring," a Napoli statement read on Friday. "The striker had already started carrying out therapies yesterday."
"Stick together, don't point fingers. Everyone knows that everyone can do better. What I said, we're not robots, we're trying to perform and you can have bad moments.
"It's how you deal with them and now we'll definitely have a good look at what happened, speak with each other and focus on the game ahead of us.
"It's good for us that there's a game quite quickly after this and hopefully [we] get a great performance and result."
Liverpool host Wolves in their next Premier League outing on Saturday, before resuming their continental campaign against Ajax on Tuesday.
Van Dijk knows the importance of getting their Champions League group-stage campaign back on track as quickly as possible, adding: "It can change, definitely.
"There's so many games still to play but you wanted to have a good start. The situation is how it is.
"Next game in the Champions League will be Ajax at home and we need the fans, we need a good performance from us.
"It starts obviously on Saturday with a good opportunity against a good side as well, so we'll give everything. What I said, the key is to be together. We need everyone.
"If you start blaming others and don't look at yourself or create negativity around the club, then you're not getting out of this. I'm fully confident that we'll turn this around together."
Wednesday's demoralising reverse means Liverpool have lost on all three of their trips to Napoli under Jurgen Klopp, the most they've travelled to a particular side without avoiding defeat during his tenure.
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool's owners "expect me to sort it out" when asked if he feared going the same way as compatriot Thomas Tuchel.
Klopp's fellow German coach was dismissed by Chelsea on Wednesday, with new Blues owner Todd Boehly cutting ties with the former Paris Saint-Germain boss in the wake of Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
That was Tuchel's 100th match in charge of Chelsea in all competitions. In his 18 months at the helm, he guided the Blues to a Champions League success, a Super Cup triumph and Club World Cup glory, as well as three domestic finals.
Chelsea failed to win any of those three domestic finals, with two of them coming as penalty shoot-out losses to Klopp's Liverpool last season.
The Reds, meanwhile, have hardly enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign. A 9-0 hammering of Bournemouth aside, Liverpool have looked a shadow of their best, and were thrashed 4-1 by Napoli in their opening Champions League match on Wednesday.
It was the heaviest defeat suffered by an English side in their Champions League opener since Arsenal lost 3-0 to Inter in 2003, while it also marked Liverpool's joint-worst loss in the competition.
Yet asked if he was worried for his future, Klopp – who has been at Anfield since 2015 – told reporters: "Not really, but who knows? The difference [between us and Chelsea] is we have different kinds of owners.
"Ours are calm and expect me to sort it and not think someone else will."
Klopp has plenty of goodwill in the bank, given the enormous success he has enjoyed at Liverpool, taking the Reds to three Champions League finals, and winning one in 2019, as well as their maiden Premier League title (2020) and winning both of England's domestic cups this year.
Jamie Carragher, who helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, is concerned as to what the immediate future might hold, however.
Carragher, a pundit for CBS Sports, said: "The problem is not that game, forget this game, for me the big worry is that is this almost something that’s going to carry on through the season, is this the end of a cycle, have Liverpool massively got their transfer ideas wrong?
"This team looks so far off it and it has been at full pelt for five or six years under Jurgen Klopp and in seven games Liverpool have played this season, they've conceded the first goal in five, so they're not starting games well.
"I'm not going to criticise their attitude because what this team have done, certainly in Europe, the Premier League – the mentality is fantastic – but is this a massive drop off physically? Can this team get it back, that's the worry for me. What's going to happen in the future for this team?
"This is only the fourth game Liverpool have lost in 2022, it shows how consistent they've been, but the performances, more than the results, are what's worrying me right now."
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