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Tag: Jurgen Klopp

  • Jurgen Klopp Expresses Concerns Over Anfield Atmosphere Ahead of Arsenal Clash

    Jurgen Klopp Expresses Concerns Over Anfield Atmosphere Ahead of Arsenal Clash

    By Daniel Edu

    Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, has voiced his disappointment with the atmosphere created by the club’s fans at Anfield leading up to their upcoming match against Arsenal.

    Scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 23, the highly anticipated face-off at Anfield sees Klopp’s team hosting Arsenal. With Arsenal currently leading the league table with 39 points in 17 games, just one point ahead of Liverpool in second place, the match holds significant importance for both teams.

    The outcome of this clash could potentially determine the table leader heading into the new week, a prospect that Klopp hopes will favor Liverpool. Acknowledging that Arsenal hasn’t played a game since the previous weekend, Klopp is emphasizing the need for everyone associated with Liverpool to be at their best during the upcoming match.

    Reflecting on the recent Carabao Cup victory against West Ham United on Wednesday night, where the fans were notably subdued, Klopp is keen to avoid a repeat when Arsenal visits this weekend. To address this, the German coach is calling on Liverpool’s ticket holders who may not be in the best shape for the Arsenal game to consider passing their tickets to individuals who will bring energy and support to the team on Saturday evening.

    Following the Carabao Cup quarter-finals win over West Ham, Klopp expressed his discontent with the atmosphere, stating, “I was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind me.” He emphasized the importance of an engaged and supportive crowd, urging fans to be on their feet throughout the match against Arsenal.

    Klopp stressed the significance of Anfield’s energy, especially against a well-prepared Arsenal team that had a week off. He encouraged fans to contribute to a vibrant atmosphere from the start, emphasizing the need for collective support without unnecessary confrontations with the opposition coach. In a final plea, Klopp suggested that those not in optimal shape for the game should consider passing on their tickets to someone ready to bring enthusiasm to the crucial encounter.

  • EPL: Klopp Admits Title Hopes Are Over After Leicester Loss

    EPL: Klopp Admits Title Hopes Are Over After Leicester Loss

    Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has admitted the team’s title hopes are over after the Reds slumped 3-1 to Leicester in a Premier League clash on Saturday, their third consecutive loss.

    Jurgen Klopp’s men could find themselves down in sixth by the time Chelsea and West Ham play winnable home games on Monday night.

    “I don’t think we can close that gap this year, to be honest. We have to win football games and big parts of our football was today again really, really good. We have to do it consistently,” the German said after the match.

    “We have to avoid mistakes, we have to avoid misunderstandings. We cannot avoid mistakes of VAR or stuff like this, but all the rest that is in our hands we have to avoid.

    “Today, in two situations we didn’t do that and that’s why they could score two goals. The rest of the football game is really good. Yes, if you win football games maybe you could score today more goals, but that’s the steps you have to make.

    “First, you have to perform again; the result is always massively related to the performance. And we were today good enough to win the game for a long, long period in the game, but not until the end because of a couple of things.”

    The visitors felt Daniel Amartey should have been ruled offside for obstructing Alisson’s view, but a VAR review deemed the Ghanaian to be onside.

    Alisson should have done better, in any case, to deal with Maddison’s shot and less than two minutes later he handed Leicester a second.

    A long ball over the top should have been comfortably dealt with, but the onrushing goalkeeper got in Kabak’s way and the defender’s rushed clearance allowed Vardy to run the ball into an empty net.

  • Klopp pressing for Mbappe deal

    Klopp pressing for Mbappe deal

    Jurgen Klopp is making personal pleas to Kylian Mbappe and his team in order to persuade the PSG forward to join Liverpool.

    Mbappe, whose deal in Paris expires in 2022, has long been linked with the Premier League champions.

    The French broadcaster say the Reds manager is now personally involved in getting the deal done, with Mbappe said to be tempted by the prospect of being the undisputed star of the show at Anfield.

    Meanwhile Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri is set to join Deportivo Alaves for the remainder of the season on loan, Goal can confirm.

    The 19-year-old winger signed for United on the final day of the summer transfer window but, with competition high in the first team and a lack of minutes available, he will join the Liga side until the end of the season to aid his development.

    Also, Paris Saint-Germain are looking to agree a deal that will allow them to keep Dele Alli beyond the end of an initial loan deal, reports Eurosport.

    The Ligue 1 giants are confident that they can lure the England international midfielder away from Tottenham, with the potential there for a permanent agreement to be pushed through in the summer.

  • Klopp reveals Thiago Alcantara health update after return to training

    Klopp reveals Thiago Alcantara health update after return to training

    Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is nearing a return to action though still needs to come through team training unscathed before he can be passed fit to play.

    The Spaniard, a high-profile summer signing from Champions League holders Bayern Munich, has endured a difficult start to his career at Anfield, testing positive for coronavirus back in September and then picking up an injury in the Merseyside derby on his return to action.

    Thiago was on the receiving end of a rash challenge from Everton’s Richarlison in the middle of October, who was shown a red card, and has not played since.

    But he got Liverpool fans very excited when he was pictured on the pitches at the club’s new Kirkby training ground, having finally appeared to have overcome his knee injury.

    While Klopp is encouraged by the 29-year-old’s progress, he says Thiago is yet to take part in training with the rest of the squad and is being cautious with the midfielder, with a January return most likely.

    Asked if Thiago was eager to finally ignite his Liverpool career, Klopp said: ‘He is, he is. We’ve already made jokes here when we said, “I think we should sign Thiago for January”.

    ‘So it gets closer and closer, and it’s a good way, but we will not rush it.

    ‘We cannot rush it, and he will not, because he’s not allowed to rush it. But of course it’s nice.

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    ‘Having him on the pitch, training, doing a lot of stuff. ‘But he was not in team training yet and that’s actually the final step.

    ‘We will see how this weekend looks with him on the [training] pitch and next week can he be in team training? I don’t know in the moment 100%.

    ‘He has to pass a few tests on the training pitch until we make that decision.

    ‘Hopefully that’s not only for him the case, but Milly [James Milner] will be similar, with Shaq [Xherdan Shaqiri] it will be similar.

    ‘Did I forget anyone? If I forgot someone it’s not because I’m disrespectful it’s just a lot of players are injured at the moment!’

  • Neuer, Jurgen Klopp, Son bag 2020 FIFA awards

    Neuer, Jurgen Klopp, Son bag 2020 FIFA awards

    Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer has won The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2020 award.

    He defeated Alisson Becker and Jan Oblak to win the award.

    Manuel Neuer has already won a host of individual awards in his glittering career, so this latest honour should come as no surprise.

    But as most of the bigger prizes came in the first half of the past decade, some critics had begun whispering that he had peaked with that legendary contribution to Germany’s 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil win.

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    Such feats have led to Neuer becoming the fourth winner of The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Award.

    Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp has won The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award 2020.

    He defeated Marcelo Bielsa of Leeds and Bayern’s Hans-Dieter Flick to win the award.

    Bielsa led Leeds United back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.

    Flick won the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, German Cup, German Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup, having taken charge less than a year before.

    “As someone who is becoming accustomed to making history, Klopp shouldn’t be surprised at becoming the first man to win The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award in successive years,” FIFA said on its website.

    Having picked up the prize in 2019 after leading Liverpool to the European title, he retains the crown thanks to a remarkable, record-breaking domestic campaign.

    The Reds won the English Premier League with a club-record 99 points – the second-most in the competition’s history – and did so playing a bold and exciting brand of football. More importantly, they ended the club’s 30-year wait for a top-flight title, offering yet more evidence – were any still needed – of their German coach’s managerial talents.

    Tottenham Hotspur player, Son Heungmin, has won the 202 FIFA Puskás Award after his breathtaking goal against Burnley.

    Twelve thrilling seconds were all it took for Son to take the ball from his own 18-yard box and find the net at the other end.

    According to FIFA, the goal showcased everything that has led Tottenham Hotspur fans to fall in love with their Korea Republic star, with pace, power, persistence and clinical finishing all on show.

    Gary Lineker, a former Spurs favourite, described it as “one of the greatest individual goals you’re ever likely to see”, and the public agreed, voting in huge numbers to crown this superb solo strike as the year’s best.

  • Diogo Jota out for six to eight weeks – Jurgen Klopp

    Diogo Jota out for six to eight weeks – Jurgen Klopp

    Diogo Jota is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a knee injury, according to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

    Jota picked up a knock in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Midtjylland in the Champions League and was initially ruled a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Fulham. Jota managed 87 minutes before being replaced by Sadio Mane.

    The Portugal forward was left out of Sunday’s squad but Klopp did reveal that he would not be required to undergo surgery.

    “It’s worse than we first thought but better than what we (later) thought. The potential surgeons had a look at it and no surgery is needed, but he will be out for a while,” Klopp told Sky Sports.

    “We don’t know exactly, but we think one and a half, two months.

    “In the end it was strange, but we were happy when we heard the final diagnosis.”

    Jota joined Liverpool in a £45m move from Wolves in the summer and has scored nine goals in all competitions this season.

    Jota’s injury is the latest in a long line of Liverpool absentees this season, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, James Milner, Thiago Alcantara, Xherdan Shaqiri and Konstantinos Tsimikas all also out of action for the defending Premier League champions.

  • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declares Chelsea ‘favourites’ to win Premier League title

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declares Chelsea ‘favourites’ to win Premier League title

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has declared Chelsea ‘favourites’ to win the Premier League title this season.

    Frank Lampard’s side have enjoyed an impressive start to the 2020-21 campaign and beat Leeds United 3-1 on Saturday to climb to the top of the table.

    Defending champions Liverpool will move back above Chelsea if they beat Wolves on Sunday, while Tottenham could also occupy top spot following their north London derby clash against Arsenal.

    Klopp insists his Liverpool team are not ‘chasing anybody’ in the Premier League but says he sees Chelsea as ‘favourites’ to clinch the title.

    He said: ‘I don’t feel in this moment that we chase anybody or somebody chases us. ‘If I watch football games then I see that Tottenham is obviously doing pretty well, that Chelsea for me in the moment looks like the favourite – bigger squad, great players, play football.

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    ‘Now they are full in and have unbelievable opportunities to change between the games and from one game to the other.

    ‘That’s it. You watch it but we don’t chase them. We play them when we play them and that was how we saw it last year as well.’

    Klopp’s Liverpool stormed to their first English top-flight title in 30 years last season and finished 18 points clear of second-placed Manchester City.

    The Reds appear more vulnerable this term, however, particularly after losing influential defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury.

    ‘Pressure is there but it’s about yourself. The pressure is there to win the game and we want to win against Wolves,’ Klopp added.

  • Jurgen Klopp says Salah has returned negative coronavirus test

    Jurgen Klopp says Salah has returned negative coronavirus test

    Salah was ruled out of Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leicester after testing positive for the virus while away on international duty with Egypt earlier this month.

    The Liverpool manager confirmed Salah produced a negative test on Sunday prior to the Leicester match and could rejoin the group on Monday after a period in self-isolation, having initially tested positive on November 13.

    Salah will undergo further testing in the coming days, with Liverpool’s next match at home to Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday.

    Speaking after the win over Leicester, Klopp said: “That’s what I’ve heard, a negative today.

    “I think from now he is pretty normal in all the testing. Tomorrow we have UEFA testing and I am pretty sure he will be in that.

    “He can train with us tomorrow. There are two tests in the next two days so he will be tested.”

    Salah’s availability will come as a welcome boost for Klopp, who is already without a number of senior players through injury – including defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

    There are also concerns over midfielder Naby Keita, who was forced off against Leicester with a hamstring problem.

    However, Klopp says it is too soon to know the severity of the injury.

    “He felt his hamstring and was not able to play on, otherwise he would have stayed on the pitch,” he said.

    Klopp also confirmed Xherdan Shaqiri missed the match after a scan revealed he had a slight muscle injury after returning from international duty with Switzerland.

    “How I know it, Shaqiri had a little muscle injury at the national team which he didn’t really realise,” said Klopp.

    “So now he trained with us, we gave him a day off and then he came back. He was involved in a session but not fully involved.

    “After that he felt it a little bit. He had a scan and it found that he has an injury from five or six days ago. Nobody knew about that, not even Shaq, but that’s how things are sometimes, so he was not able to be involved.”

  • Jurgen Klopp unsurprised by Diogo Jota impact

    Jurgen Klopp unsurprised by Diogo Jota impact

    Jurgen Klopp says he is not surprised how quickly Diogo Jota has adapted to Liverpool’s playing style and made an instant impact at the club.

    Jota has scored three goals in the Reds’ past three games, coming off the bench to net a winner against West Ham which secured the points to put his new club top of the Premier League table.

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    That strike took his Liverpool tally to four for the season, an impressive start following his £45m summer transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers and one which has not come as a surprise to his manager.

    “He’s a really good boy and he’s a really good signing. I knew it would not take long for him to adapt because the intensity level from Wolves is very high.

  • Liverpool boss heaps praise on Nat Phillips after his display against West Ham

    Liverpool boss heaps praise on Nat Phillips after his display against West Ham

    “Nat Phillips, wow! I couldn’t be more happy,” says Jurgen Klopp of Premier League debutant after the game; Jamie Carragher also says Phillips now in contention for starting place against Man City on November 8 after fine showing in win over West Ham.

    Jurgen Klopp described Nat Phillips’ Premier League debut as a “wow” performance as he earned the man of the match award in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over West Ham.

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    Phillips, brought in to replace the injured Fabinho as central defensive injury problems forced Klopp’s hand, was integral to Liverpool’s narrow victory, claiming the man-of-the-match award from Sky Sports co-commentator Jamie Carragher.

    The 23-year-old was close to a move to the Championship early in October, and was therefore not included in Liverpool’s Champions League squad, but registered a match-high nine clearances against West Ham in an assured top-flight debut.