LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised his team for weeding out recent criticism of their slump in form to post a comfortable win over Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Last season’s Champions League and English Premier League runners-up got off to a rocky start to the season, losing their opener in Europe to Napoli and finishing a relatively low ninth place in domestic competition.
But they swept aside their Scottish opponents at Anfield with a 2-0 win that would have been a bigger lead had not Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor been so heroic.
“I really enjoyed the game. We got three points. That’s the most important thing,” said Klopp, looking happy but more subdued than usual after a European Cup win that put Liverpool in second place with six points after three games Group A brought.
“I can’t wait for the moment when I can read the newspaper again. But the criticism is perfectly fine. We’re not overjoyed with our situation,” he said of reacting to Liverpool’s recent leaking performance in the weekend’s 3-3 draw at home in Brighton.
“I saw a fully committed team tonight, I like that a lot. It was exactly what we needed tonight. A new formation, we had to change things. We had a lot of chances, imagine if we had more used it. Really.” Good game Very important.
“We expected a reaction. Everyone expected a reaction. We really want to turn it into something positive and for that we need consistency. You need a top-class defense for that and we had that tonight. It worked out pretty well.”
“WONDERFUL GATE”
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been particularly under fire for Liverpool lately and has been criticized for leaving gaps in defense as they march forward.
But he got it right on Tuesday, scoring a spectacular free-kick to set Liverpool on their way to victory while also helping them keep clean sheets.
“He put in a good game, especially defensively. And a wonderful goal, right? I’m glad he had that,” said Klopp, noting some changes in the formation to give Alexander-Arnold more coverage when he went forward.
“We take risks. We weren’t at the perfect moment, so we adjusted it.”
Klopp, whose side are three points behind Napoli in Group A despite still being in a qualifying position, said he expected a very different game when Liverpool take on Rangers in Scotland next week. “We respect them very much,” he said.
He was pleased with his front four of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.
“The way the lads moved forward today was extremely good,” he said, saying Nunez would soon score after a series of saved shots against the Scots.
“Two set-pieces too – love that because it means you don’t have to wait for VAR!” he joked about Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick and Salah’s penalty.