Klopp's verdict on Newcastle fightback, Carvalho and Elliott
Jürgen Klopp explained the boost that Liverpool's last-minute win over Newcastle United will provide but underscored the need for ongoing improvement from his team.
After trailing to Alexander Isak’s first-half goal at Anfield on Wednesday night the Reds secured three Premier League points in dramatic fashion.
Roberto Firmino’s cool finish brought Klopp’s men level and then substitute Fabio Carvalho smashed in the decisive goal for a 2-1 victory in the eighth minute of added time.
Read a summary of the manager’s post-match assessment at his press conference below…
On how Liverpool found a way to win the game…
During the game we should have played more football. We told the boys in the first half, always when we played football it looked really good, we were dangerous, that was fine. Newcastle did really well how they put us under pressure; they had to invest a lot and I think we could see it was really a lot in the last 20, 25 minutes when they started struggling a little bit with the intensity. But we should have done better.
[We] told the boys at half-time that even before we were 1-0 down, it looked already a little bit desperate, there’s no need for that. We were forcing it too early, we played too many long balls without a real idea behind. We play these balls – Virg to Mo, for example. That’s absolutely fine, they helped us a lot of times. But it’s not always the case that Mo can just get them down and these kind of things. We need to prepare these situations better. Again, being 1-0 down is obviously not cool but it was the least of my problems in half-time. So, we showed the boys: if we do specific stuff, play the extra pass then we can cause them problems because they took some risk in their defending, how they moved to one side. And when we were always left then it really put us under pressure there; if we could get out there then the spaces were immediately there.
So we scored the equaliser and then it was just a difficult game to play because we didn’t play a lot. All of your colleagues asked me now about it, that’s why I mention it, everybody asked me about it – it was just interrupted constantly for some reason and that doesn’t give you the momentum. There was no chance to gain any kind of momentum. In the end, I was really happy in the moment when we got this last corner in the 98th minute. What Mo and Fabio made then of it was obviously absolutely outstanding, a wonderful goal. A perfect moment; that we scored it after 98 minutes, I thought, is the perfect response to everything what happened during the game.
On the importance of the moment for Carvalho…
He scored now twice in the last two games. Yesterday, birthday. So it’s probably a better week. He is an outstanding player, wonderful talent, very mature in a lot of departments already. So I’m really happy for him. Harvey was the best player on the pitch and Fabio decides the game. That says a lot about the talent of the boys.
On whether he has worked on anything in particular with Harvey Elliott in his development…
Just a year older and more training sessions in his legs, more games played. He started an exceptional season last year, he did, he played a similar level. I cannot now compare is he now already better than last year. More influential, for sure. He is a midfielder, he is a guy we need on the ball and these kind of things. He did really well. There’s nothing particular we work on with Harvey that we say you need to improve this or that, it’s just for all the boys actually, creating sessions where the boys get forced to make the next step. That’s it. Where you deal better with smaller spaces, higher tempo, all these kind of things – especially for a midfielder who is constantly under pressure. You have to do that but you need a proper skillset for that, to improve – and that’s obvious that he has that.
On what the manner of the win can do for the team…
Of course we have to use anything. A massive boost, from a rather frustrating night in a lot of moments to one of the best nights we ever had. That’s how football is. Of course it gives a boost but we sleep now twice and then we play Everton so we have to make sure we use these two days really well. But yes, last two games, six points, proper scoreline, so that’s all positive. But everybody saw it tonight: we have to improve. The next game will not be like that Everton open for us all the gates and say OK, you want to go here or there. We have to fight through this as well and at Goodison, not at home. We know it will be tough so we have to be ready for that.
On his assessment of Liverpool’s form going into the derby…
It’s exciting at least, let me say it like this. We know we have to improve. Really we know that. How I said, when we played football we were really good, even tonight against an opponent who threw everything in between us and the goal. That’s the truth. And that’s what we have to do now, consistently playing football. There are moments when you have to force it but you cannot force it, force it, force it and then hope all of a sudden you can start playing football. We obviously need still to make a few steps to be as good as we can be. But the next game will be a proper fight, I’m not sure we should think too much about playing football, it will be a proper fight and we have to be ready for that. Then we will see what we get from it.