Klopp Talk: “We Had A Really Positive Half-Time Talk”

Liverpool FC conceded first in a match again. (It was the eighth time this season). But luckily, the Reds had a hell of a response this time around, scoring seven goals unanswered to win the game 7-1.

According to the manager, the half-time team talk was key:

“We had a really positive half time talk. We conceded a goal, scored an equaliser and had really good football moments, and we wanted more of that in the second half.”

“We showed the boys which spaces we could play in. We knew especially if we could keep them moving, with the way they play, it could be really intense.”

“In the end, we needed to get clearer in the final third, which obviously worked out! All the goals were absolutely great, how we played them and set them up and finished them off. That was the decisive part. “

“A game is 95 minutes usually, so if you can build on parts of the first half you have to do that, and we did.”

“Last night somebody told me that the atmosphere here is always the same. OK, that is not the case, but it is normal. The atmosphere was top when Arfield scored and after that each challenge was celebrated, stuff like this.”

“In these moments it is always important you calm the atmosphere down but that is only possible with football. You cannot do it with half-challenges because that keeps [fans] on their toes.”

“That’s the part I’m most pleased with. I’m happy that we scored goals, but if we win the game 2-1 as well then I am over the moon. The way it went, it can happen. We were really just on it and meeting us at the wrong moment is not cool.”

Clearly, this hasn’t been the season we’ve wanted. There are systemic things that still don’t look fixed. Look, Rangers are not a great team, but Ibrox is a difficult place to play, so as the boss says, this is something that can be built on. A 7-1 win deserves celebrating, regardless of how the season.

Liverpool will now host Manchester City at Anfield, in what looks to be a difficult game. But they got the job done in Europe, and avoiding defeat against Ajax will see them progress into the Round of 16. Up the Reds.