Daybreak, Politics, Entertainment, Sport

Tag: Klopp

  • Premier League too challenging to dominate, Klopp admits

    Premier League too challenging to dominate, Klopp admits

    Jurgen Klopp insisted there was no plan for Liverpool to dominate the world for years to come, insisting it was tough just to be successful in England.

    After leading Liverpool to the Premier League title last season, Klopp was named The Best FIFA Men’s Coach on Thursday, with four Reds also part of the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11.

    After Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Tottenham, Klopp’s men are also three points clear atop the Premier League table this season.

    But the German dismissed any talk about world domination, highlighting just how difficult it was to win in England.

    “I don’t think anybody will dominate English football – it’s too difficult, 100 per cent. The league is too challenging, the calendar is too challenging,” Klopp told reporters.

    “We all have to make sure we get through these crazy times at the moment and all the other times as well. We had four players in the best team of the world in the last year – one we had to sign from Bayern [Munich], which was smart business, I would say. We obviously have a good team.

    “All the other players could have been in that team, as well, because of their ability, so you see we have a really good team here. What you always need in life is a little bit of luck, so you can win football games.

    “The more football games you win, the closer you come to winning trophies. If you are in the final or whatever, then you have to make the final touch, that’s it.

    “But we don’t plan world dominance for the next years. We just plan for the next game, which is in 40-something hours at Crystal Palace.”

    As well as the breakthrough Premier League title, Klopp has led Liverpool to a Champions League title, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup since taking charge in October 2015.

    But the former Borussia Dortmund coach said there was no chance he would become complacent.

    “Oh, I’m 53 years old. I’m too old for flying, so it’s easy for me to stay humble. The thing is I have just a world-class team, I work at a world-class club. With the players and people around me, it’s our responsibility to be as successful as possible. That’s it,” Klopp said.

    “Nobody has to worry that I could get satisfied – I don’t really know how that works. There are no guarantees of success; the only chance you have is to work as hard as you can. If we do that, still no guarantee. But you can get at least a little bit. That’s why we try absolutely everything every single day.”

  • Emotional Klopp savours return of Liverpool fans in Wolves win

    Emotional Klopp savours return of Liverpool fans in Wolves win

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp struggled to contain his emotions after seeing Reds fans return to Anfield on Sunday. 

    A small crowd of 2,000 were allowed to attend the Premier League clash against Wolves and Klopp’s team rewarded them by claiming an emphatic 4-0 win. 

    Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Georginio Wijnaldum and Joel Matip struck in the second half with a Nelson Semedo own-goal wrapping up the result late on. 

    While satisfied with his team’s strong performance, it was the return of the Anfield faithful that really struck a chord with Klopp. 

    “The game, the atmosphere, it was so nice. I had goosebumps. They started ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – really nice. I never knew it could feel that good,” Klopp told the BBC post-match, before starting to become emotional.

    “This started in February and we were waiting to get normality back,” he continued. “Normality is good – I don’t think we appreciated it as much. It was very very touching.

    “Wasn’t it a perfect night? Whatever the weather was like outside, it was sunshine inside the stadium.

    “There were a few challenges before the game – Wolves play different systems. I gave the boys information about how to press them. The boys were outstanding with how they dealt with them – our best result against Wolves.”

    On young goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who started the game and kept an impressive clean sheet, Klopp added: “Very mature. Very calm. Very good with the ball and without the ball. It was a night to remember for him.”

    Wijnaldum netted a superb second goal for the Reds and though quick to dismiss questions about a new contract, he was also thrilled to have fans back at Anfield.

    “It’s wonderful – really excited when we heard supporters were allowed. It was a great feeling they were back,” Wijnaldum said.

    “I don’t want to say it’s a ‘champions’ performance’. We were patient, the position play was good and we scored good goals.

    “The fans helped the performance a lot because they cheered during the game and before we only had the bench for support.”

    RELATED POSTS:

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

    Tebas wants Messi, Mourinho, Guardiola & Klopp in La Liga

    Firmino plays ’12 different instruments’ in Liverpool’s orchestra – Klopp

  • Firmino plays ’12 different instruments’ in Liverpool’s orchestra – Klopp

    Firmino plays ’12 different instruments’ in Liverpool’s orchestra – Klopp

    Jurgen Klopp admits he was delighted to see Roberto Firmino back among the goals for Liverpool last weekend.

    But the Reds boss once more reiterated that the Brazilian will remain a central figure for his team, whether scoring or not.

    Firmino’s late header put the seal on the champions’ 3-0 win over Leicester at Anfield on Sunday evening, and capped an impressive personal performance from the 29-year-old.

    It may only have been his second club goal of the season, but speaking at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Atalanta on Wednesday night, Klopp underlined Firmino’s importance to the Merseysiders.

    He told reporters: “Scoring was always important for Bobby. But Bobby is a complete footballer. 

    “A football team is like an orchestra, you have different people for different instruments. And some of them are louder than others, but they are all important for the rhythm.

    “Bobby plays like 12 instruments in our orchestra! He’s very important for our rhythm. We can play well without him as well, but I certainly want him on the pitch and if you look at the numbers, I like it a lot having him on the pitch. Really awesome.”

    Klopp admitted that he had been delighted to see his No.9 back on the scoresheet, and said that recent questions over Firmino’s form had impacted some of his team-mates, who celebrated the goal with extra feeling.

    He added: “I’m not concerned about anything with Bobby, but I know from time to time it happens that he scores a goal!

    “This goal was very important, and what I loved most was the reaction of the boys. You saw the celebration. We always celebrate goals, but this was really emotional. 

    “Obviously the players read newspapers, unfortunately, and they saw there was some criticism, so they were really happy for him to score.”

    Klopp also addressed a question about another Reds forward, Takumi Minamino, who has managed only one minute of competitive action in the last month.

    “There is no dip in form,” he said. “Taki is training well, yesterday he was exceptional for example. It’s just a strong team, and offensively – thank God – we didn’t have the same problems as the other positions. It’s hard to get in this team, that’s how it is. 

    “But no dip in form, just a challenge. But Taki is a sensational boy and a great player, so he will face that challenge. His time will come, no doubt.”

  • Klopp spent just two days working on Liverpool’s fab four unleashed against Man City

    Klopp spent just two days working on Liverpool’s fab four unleashed against Man City

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he spent just two days working on the front four approach that left many observers surprised in the Reds’ trip to Manchester City.

    Much of the build-up to a heavyweight Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium had been dominated by a supposed selection poser that pitted Roberto Firmino against Diogo Jota.

    Liverpool’s established No.9 has been struggling for a spark of late, putting his position under threat from a summer signing that has hit the ground running at Anfield.

    Many had Jota getting the nod for a meeting with City, but Klopp had other ideas and opted to field an even more adventurous staring XI against fellow title hopefuls.

    READ ALSO: Abdullahi replaces injured Onyeka as Iheanacho, Etebo arrive camp

    That decision paid off as the Reds burst out of the blocks and into an early lead, but they did tire as the game went on and – after seeing Kevin De Bruyne miss a penalty for the Blues – were happy to make the short journey back to Merseyside with a 1-1 draw.

    Klopp told Liverpool’s official website of tweaking his approach and taking a point: “Top game. Top, top level [from] both teams. Energy level outstanding from both teams, two really good football-playing sides battle against each other. It was outstandingly interesting to watch.

    “I loved our start, obviously we played a different system and you saw that in the game – in moments we had still to adapt to it. We had two days’ time to work on it, we did that but in the end, under pressure from a proper opponent, it’s slightly different. But the boys did incredibly well, I liked really a lot of situations, a lot of football parts, how we defended City was really good.

    “They had their 10 minutes when we weren’t as compact as necessary after the quick start. That’s where they came back, that’s the quality of City, but then it was again equal or level or whatever you want. So, I’m really fine with a point.”

    Defending champions Liverpool have positioned themselves among the early frontrunners in 2020-21, and have arguably their toughest test out of the way after getting through a trip to the Etihad, but Klopp is eager to point out that there is still a long way to go.

    The German added with 30 Premier League games still to take in and trophy bids to be sustained across multiple competitions: “Look, in the Premier League all opponents are tricky to play, unbelievable, so I don’t make really these kind of assumptions or think, ‘OK, we played them already and we played them already’.

    “We have to play them again and wherever it is it will be difficult. It’s a tough period and for the boys it just goes on. They go now and play two, some of them three, games for their national teams and yeah, it’s a tough time.

    “That’s why we have to make sure with the boys [that] we give them time, at least a few days when we can do it, to recover. Apart from that, the boys were ready to go again [against City] and I couldn’t be more happy about that.”

    Liverpool will return to action after the international break with a home date against table-topping Leicester on November 21.

  • Robertson welcomes bold front four call as Klopp adds Jota to attacking trio

    Robertson welcomes bold front four call as Klopp adds Jota to attacking trio

    Andy Robertson has welcomed Jurgen Klopp’s decision to enhance a “phenomenal” attacking trident at Liverpool by adding Diogo Jota and fielding a front four.

    A bold selection call was made by the Reds boss for their visit to Manchester City.

    Much of the build-up to a crunch clash between two Premier League title hopefuls had been dominated by suggestions Klopp needed to pick between in-form Jota and out of sorts Roberto Firmino when it came to leading to the line for Liverpool.

    READ ALSO: ‘Kane a certainty to join Rooney & Shearer in 200 club’ – Crouch

    In the end the reigning champions opted to be even more adventurous, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah also included in the starting XI that burst out of the blocks at the Etihad Stadium.

    Robertson embraced that decision from his boss, with the Scottish defender telling Liverpool’s official website of the change in approach: “Look, that’s what happens with players like Diogo – who scored a hat-trick in midweek, he’s scored so many goals – and obviously the manager looked at it and thought, ‘I have to get him in the team’.

    “The front three have been phenomenal the last three years and then we bring on quality like Shaq [Xherdan Shaqiri], who is in such a good moment right now. He has played phenomenal football the past couple of weeks and then we bring on Millie [James Milner], trusty Millie, slotting in for Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. 

    “That was part of us maybe adapting as a team, being able to play different formations, being able to play different personnel and things like that, and we managed to do that against one of the best teams in the league.

    “I thought we did it pretty well and we can adapt, and it means that we can maybe play it more often, but the 4-3-3 has worked so well for us. So we won’t play it all the time, but it means we can adapt to certain teams, certain situations and it’s about us evolving as a team. So that was a big step.”

    Liverpool had to settle for a share of the spoils against City in a 1-1 draw, but things could have been worse as Kevin De Bruyne missed a penalty for the Blues, and Robertson is looking for the Reds to kick on from this point.

    He added: “I think when we started getting some injuries and lost a couple of players with Covid-19 and stuff, everyone expected the wheels to fall off, but we’ve managed to steady the ship a little bit and pick up some great results, especially in Europe.

    “In the Premier League we’ve maybe not been at our best at times but we’ve picked up results and that’s why we are near the top of the league. So, long may that continue and long may we keep building our confidence and building our performances.

    “I think this was one of our best performances in a while and hopefully we come back from internationals full of confidence and we can really kick on because we are a good team. We will have lads coming back from injuries hopefully and we will only get stronger for that, so long may that continue.

    “Hopefully we don’t lose anyone during the internationals. We know we’ve got really important games – mine is the biggest for our country in a long, long time – but I hope we all come back fit and healthy.

    “I hope we go and attack this Christmas period because it’s going to be hectic, but we have dealt with it pretty well in previous seasons and that’s what we need this season.”

  • ‘I can’t help these people, sorry’ – Klopp

    ‘I can’t help these people, sorry’ – Klopp

    Jurgen Klopp insists Roberto Firmino’s record for Liverpool should speak for itself as the manager weighs up his attacking options for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.

    The Reds boss said he was “embarrassed” to be asked to explain the Brazilian’s qualities, amid suggestions Firmino’s place could be on the line for the Premier League clash.

    With Diogo Jota making an instant impact following his arrival from Wolves, and with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane so influential, there has been a growing school of thought that Firmino could become the odd man out.

    READ ALSO: Pulisic’s injury frustration continues for Chelsea

    He has started all seven of Liverpool’s league games this term but was only a substitute for the 5-0 win over Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, coming off the bench to replace hat-trick hero Jota once the game was emphatically won.

    Data from Opta has shown Firmino’s impact has waned in certain areas from a statistical perspective in the early weeks of the 2020-21 season.

    He has averaged just 0.6 shots on target over the first seven games in the Premier League, compared to 1.2 in each of the past two campaigns, and is winning possession far less frequently in the final third of the pitch – 0.3 times per game in 2020-21 against 1.1 last term and 0.8 in 2018-19.

    Firmino is creating a similar number of chances for team-mates, albeit fractionally down at 1.4 per match from 1.6 last season, and scoring just once in seven league games will not help his cause in some eyes.

    But Klopp has no doubts over a player who has been integral in teams that have accrued 97 and 99 points in the last two seasons, and who won the Champions League less than 18 months ago.

    “I don’t have to say one word about Bobby Firmino and how important he was for us. So I don’t waste time with that,” Klopp said.

    “[People who are] not with us, I don’t care if they know about him. He was in so many games the difference maker, without scoring maybe, but with scoring as well in other games. I would feel really embarrassed if I had to mention now the qualities of Bobby Firmino.”

    Klopp was asked further to explain what Firmino brought to Liverpool that might not be obvious to the casual observer, but he refused.

    “I can’t help these people, sorry,” Klopp said. “If they don’t see it, I can’t help them.”

    The German boss said it “would have been completely normal” if Jota had taken a while before bedding in at Liverpool, and stressed he was not expecting what the Portuguese has been producing.

    But over the longer term, Klopp always thought 23-year-old Jota would be capable of bringing a fresh element to Liverpool’s play, and one that would make them a better side.

    “He’s the player we thought he would be,” Klopp said. “We thought we can help him to reach the next level, like he can help us to reach the next level because of his qualities.

    “He’s played in one of the hardest-working teams you can face, with Wolves. That all helps us and it helps him obviously. So I’m really happy about the impact he had so far.”

  • Facing Manchester City is ‘the most difficult game in the world of football’ – Klopp

    Facing Manchester City is ‘the most difficult game in the world of football’ – Klopp

    Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claims facing Manchester City is “the most difficult game in the world of football”, but does not expect the meeting with the Citizens on Sunday to be a Premier League title decider.

    Two teams that have dominated the domestic scene in English football over recent seasons are set to rekindle their rivalry at the Etihad Stadium. There will be plenty on the line when they lock horns, with Liverpool looking to take another positive step towards defending their top-flight crown while City are eager to wrestle it back.

    READ ALSO: Solskjaer backs himself to be Manchester United success

    Both line-ups will be loaded with world-class talent, which has allowed them to collect an enviable haul of major silverware under their respective bosses.

    Big money has been spent by both ambitious outfits on opposing sides of the North West divide, with City having opened their chequebook again over the summer.

    Klopp is expecting the toughest of tests when he sends his troops into battle, with Liverpool’s impressive recent record against City counting for little against an opponent that has firmly established a standing among the global elite.

    “It is not important whether we play home or away, it is important we are brave, we play football with all we have and then we have a chance,” Klopp told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “This is the most difficult game in the world of football I would say, to play against Manchester City.”

    The outcome of meetings between two title hopefuls has often determined the destination of a top-flight crown down the years, with many suggesting that Sunday’s fixture could have a big say in the 2020-21 race.

    Klopp is not buying that, with the German tactician adding: “It looks like even you think it is not a decider, so come on. It is a very, very difficult game and hopefully for both teams, both will perform on a high level but that is it. So many things are different this year, nothing is comparable to last year. 

    “Everything is different so we just have to make sure we go through very intense periods, line up with the fittest players we have and take on Manchester City, one of the most difficult opponents in the world. 

    “I enjoy these games but it doesn’t make it easier.”