Jürgen Klopp is excited about the distinctive task his Liverpool team will confront when they visit Manchester City at midday on Saturday.
After the international break, the Reds will play again when they visit Etihad Stadium to play the team now ranked first and second in the Premier League.
Read on for a synopsis of Klopp’s remarks during a press conference held on Friday afternoon at the AXA Training Centre, which served as a preview of the match.
Regarding how different Liverpool is from their trip to Man City last season…
I’m not even familiar with the lineup from the previous season; it’s not that I don’t want to know, I just don’t think that way or like to compare and stuff like that. It’s evident that we needed to improve on previous season. In fact, I believe that even with no adjustments, we might have outperformed the previous season because it was just unsatisfactory, uncharacteristic of us, and these kinds of things. We also needed to make adjustments, which we did. I don’t know if I described the team as “2.0,” but I believe I talked more about the project or the tasks at hand that are necessary to produce “Liverpool 2.0.” Because you were successful, we will never be successful because we had a really successful team, super team, super lads, and super characters, but time is running out, we all get older, and stuff like that.
Even though we were aware of it, we nevertheless had to take that action. I’m aware that so far it appears like we added quality players, but now we need to make sure we perform at a high level on the field. There’s no denying that Saturday is important, but it’s also a huge assignment for us and every other football club in the world since they have been the best side in the world for the past few years. Still, we’ll give it a shot.
Regarding City’s 23-game home victory streak…
What I do know is that a run’s likelihood of ending increases with its duration! So, we also had it; I believe it was Burnley. Sincerely, if I could say anything to lessen their strength, I would say it all the time. They are incredibly powerful. However, nothing is present. Although it’s a challenging game, everything that occurred one, two, or three years ago is only a memory. Our goal is to be prepared for tomorrow, which is something we have to do. As I’ve mentioned several times, we have a chance if we can make them truly uncomfortable. No team can defeat them if they are at ease in their element.
However, if we are able to alter it, we have an additional opportunity that we must seize since it will not come again. However, I enjoy it. I don’t know how I felt before the game last year, but I don’t think I was overly optimistic. I probably just thought, “Okay, let’s go there and we change everything there now in that game.” We feel like we’re getting closer, which is excellent, but on matchday, you have to prevail in the close games played on the field. To do it, you must be compact and sufficiently close to these pivotal battles. You also have to play a lot of football yourself on top of everything else. Everything is thrilling and demanding at the same time. Yes, let’s investigate.
Regarding if Mohamed Salah has room to grow…
It would be unfortunate if he were not 43 and that we asked for that! Of sure, he can get better, but that depends entirely on consistency and small moments in games! He looks to him for it. If he doesn’t want to get better, then why does he always arrive first in the building and leave last? Indeed, he certainly can. However, that isn’t really the point. It’s about [that] he’s learned so much about the game over the years from his expertise, so where are the positions, where is that? clearly a totally different player than the youngster who came here; we signed him because we thought he was good at the time.
But with his newfound experience handling various circumstances, he’s truly an entirely different beast. When it comes to his teammates, he excels. He’s a great role model for all of the offensive players, and they have a great relationship with him because of his support for them. That’s a noteworthy fact. Mo had to be more self-centered at first in order to get his bearings and figure out how to wow me, impress everyone, maybe even prove everyone wrong, and other such things. That is now all resolved. What makes him the player that he is and what makes him so unique is that he still has this burning desire to score. I think I’ve said this a million times: may it always be this way.
Regarding the relationship between Darwin Nunez and Salah, and whether it stems from their training together or is just a natural fit…
If you are not very good at football, you will never be able to play for Liverpool. This indicates that they are extremely intelligent football players. Imagine yourself in a situation where you are running down the field at 900 mph with the ball, and you ask yourself, “Who could run as fast and who is in the right position?” Most likely Mo.’s? Because of how quickly the other players move, Darwin and Mo are able to combine, which is where things start to click and where they search for one another and other similar things. But it’s just a different style of playing; they don’t exclude the other boys.
That reminds me of the times we played a little deeper and more centrally with Bobby [Firmino]. Since they were the first two players to arrive in the opposition box, I’m not precisely sure what the numbers between Sadio [Mane] and Mo are, but they were probably pretty good as well. If you want to pass the ball, it’s probably to one of them. And that’s it. In general, from the start—as I already stated—this is how Mo helps the boys: When Darwin arrived, he had high aspirations, and Mo—who was likely the most aware of the circumstances—saw his potential and wanted to support him. That was undoubtedly the beginning of an extremely unique collaboration, even though we didn’t have the longest talk at the time due to some language barriers.
Regarding how, as of now, Liverpool and City have taken the top two spots in the table…
I can tell you what we did to earn the points. What City specifically accomplished […] I am not entirely sure. One point here, one point there, and so on. surprisingly, of course. Before every game, City fans throughout the nation undoubtedly say to themselves, “They will win that… they will win that,” and most of the time, they do. That’s just their greatest asset and trait. Considering all they’ve accomplished over the past few years, their eagerness to win the next one is, to be honest, rather unique. They didn’t lose a single point, in my opinion, because they weren’t actually present. They are in the games, and in order to win, the opposition has to struggle mightily.
We have previously discussed what needs to be done now. that’s evident that improving while also changing was necessary, and that presented a significant difficulty. Making a change is one thing, but it needs to happen right now. Imagine if things had gone differently and it had not worked out. Notoriety has it that in the past several years, new players have joined and have taken some time to get going for us and other things, but it was also partly due to the fact that our formation was rather steady.
We opened the door in midfield, but that also meant that the other guys who arrived had to step in very much right away because our existing players, like Harvey and Curtis, were still very young. We were fortunate to have a proper pre-season together. It would be far more difficult with all the competitions, the Copa America and the Euros, if there is a typical summer, such as next summer. It would be entirely different. However, because we now had more time to work together, we were able to come to a decision a little faster, which is how we were able to produce the desired results.
Overcoming obstacles and the like is beneficial while forming a new team and team chemistry. It is not your goal to produce them. During training camps, you want to mold them by assigning them a physically demanding task that they can hardly complete, so that when they succeed, they will share the agony. Naturally, things are more worse during the season, but we overcame them by telling the stories of the games we played, including the times when we were down to 10 or 9 guys and other similar circumstances. And it was where we needed luck. We got it, which I believe the boys deserved, but it also provided us with guidance.
The sensation I have right now, sitting here, is that we just need to walk to City, locate the entry, and we will have the three points. That is untrue. Our progress is positive, but I’m not really there to say, “City be aware,” or anything like that. They are who they are, and they are strong—very, very strong. We need to be strong in whatever way we can, and let’s see what results we can achieve.
Regarding if Alexis Mac Allister’s test at No. 6 is the greatest of his career…
First and foremost, at this time, I am unaware of the lineup. I’m not sure. Before I make that [choice], we need to speak with a lot of individuals. No, because I am aware that from the outside looking in, it’s always about how a player fits into this position, this position, and so on, but ultimately it’s about how the squad is assembled as a whole. Is Macca a six by nature? No. Has football evolved in recent years in ways that we never could have predicted? Indeed. Is it possible for a player such as Macca to play the six? Without a doubt.
That is, it depends on how the entire team defends. Simple as that. If you execute it well, you will have a fantastic central player who is able to find passes and think ahead of the game among other things. Do you really want someone there who just throws guys to the ground and then says, “It’s not my job, give me a break,” when they are in possession? & such, and it’s not that simple after that. To be honest, I really like him there. If we make sure to have a good compact shape, we can gain a lot as a team from it. That’s what we require, and tomorrow in particular, of course.
Regarding if the match tomorrow will demonstrate how near Liverpool is to City…
I’m not sure prior to the game. So, as you can see, a lot can happen. We lose because we play poorly. Potential. It seems implausible that we would play poorly and win. It is virtually impossible to defeat City. It’s possible that even though we play really well, we lose. That’s how football works. We play excellently and prevail—all of which would befall precisely the same team. This team is headed in the correct path, thus we don’t need to pass this test or anything like. That much is clear. We observed that we are not flawless. Okay, so there was an international break, but Toulouse was our opponent before the most recent Premier League match, and we didn’t do well there. It is my responsibility because I made a lot of modifications, but it wasn’t good enough. We did not perform well against Luton. Got a point, no problem, we could have won the match, but even in that scenario, we wouldn’t have been that good that evening.
However, we have been good in many of the games this season and have earned our results in the various circumstances. So, for a squad that was short one guy, we were excellent with ten men. We were unique with two men down out of nine. We were all involved in these kinds of things, but they have nothing to do with the upcoming game. We play that game [tomorrow], of course, but it’s not a competition to see how close we can go to City. I would watch this football game anywhere in the world because it is simply so damn thrilling. Yes, I would. You wouldn’t watch this game, why? Everything you require is present. It’s not about being ecstatic for us—that is, ‘Oh my God, I can’t wait!’—we just need to be well-prepared and aware that we need to give it our all in order to stand a chance. It is up to us to accept that if it is available. We’ll see.