Klopp on 5-1 Win: Did I Enjoy It? Not Really

5-1 looks pretty no matter how you slice it. An own goal here, an unlovely set piece score there and an end to the ridiculous Mohamed Salah scoring run; inna final analysis, making the correct choice when deciding between style points and three points is the hallmark of a contender.

Jürgen Klopp, however, remains to be convinced. A welcome German pragmatism, in contrast to the Liverpool manager’s traditionally gung-ho philosophy, has certainly underscored the positive run of recent results. But it doesn’t mean he has to like it.

"Did I enjoy it? Not really, not all the time,” Klopp admitted in his post-match interview. “At the beginning we needed to be patient with Brighton's style. We needed to get used to it.

"We scored two fantastic goals. It was good to watch. We scored a third which is a good idea in a game like this.

“A few weeks ago we were lucky with refereeing decisions and we paid it back tonight. Brighton's goal made it a little bit more exciting but in the end we closed the game in a nice way.”

With Joël Matip sidelined until the New Year, Nathaniel Clyne still out and Ragnar Klavan ailing, the 50-year-old was forced to field an odd team sheet that saw midfielders Gini Wijnaldum and Emre Can join Dejan Lovren in defense:

"We had no idea we were going to have to line up like this until yesterday's meeting,” Klopp continued. “I'm pleased for the boys. They were able to adapt.

"Our line up surprised everybody. It's a good moment that we can do things like this. They adapted and did the job.”