Klopp Talk: Pleased With the Win, But They ‘Have to Play Better’

After a rocky first half of the season, Liverpool seem to have reached their stride in a way that even the funky six week World Cup break didn’t mess with. With their 2-1 victory against Leicester City, that’s now four league wins in a row, two before the break and two after.

Unlike their more commanding 3-1 win over Aston Villa, it took a bit more luck to come away with the three points against former manager Brendan Rodgers’ club.

After the match, Jürgen Klopp was asked about the team’s performance. While he praised the win, he was also quick to point out the areas where they struggled. In particular, he seemed as baffled and annoyed as we were watching at home with the goal they conceded early on in the match.

“The start in the game – conceding from a goalkick, I can’t remember a lot of goals we conceded from a goalkick, to be 100 per cent honest,” Klopp said. “We were just not there in that moment, we came three times too late and in the end Dewsbury-Hall is alone in front of Ali and Ali can this time not save us. So, 1-0 down against a counter-attacking side with a clear idea, yeah, absolutely the opposite of what you want to have.”

Klopp wasn’t done there, continuing to list the sins of his players in the first half.

“On top of that, we played further on pretty much in Leicester’s hands. We lost the balls in the wrong moment, when we were too open, so for a long time we never got a foot in this game. Then we had our football moments and we forced them mistakes; scored a disallowed goal and then the two own goals happened,” he concluded.

Going into half time with a 2-1 lead was a boost, and the boss admitted that the team was much better in the second half, despite not scoring again.

“But we had massive chances in the second half where we could have finished the game off – didn’t use them and so that’s pretty much the story of the game. When it’s only 2-1 against a good opponent then you have to fight through. That’s what we did and I’m pleased with that, but of course we have to play better.”

The Reds will not have to wait long to get another chance to improve. Their first match of 2023 kicks off on Monday when they travel to Brentford.