LONDON • Liverpool are inching towards a first league title in 29 years, but Jurgen Klopp has called on his team to bask in the journey with their supporters and not be consumed by the "Holy Grail" of lifting the Premier League crown.
The Reds' 2-0 victory at relegation-threatened Cardiff on Sunday restored their two-point lead over champions Manchester City (86 points), who will play their game in hand against cross-town rivals Manchester United tomorrow.
While Pep Guardiola's men will return to the top of the table should they win at Old Trafford, it has still been a season to cherish for Klopp and his players, with just three league matches left.
He said: "If you are only motivated to win the (league title), then something is wrong with you. We want to win football games because we enjoy the ride with the fans.
"In the end, we will see how many points we have and then we get what we get."
Georginio Wijnaldum's second-half opener - a cleverly worked corner routine which resulted in Trent Alexander-Arnold's cutback - and James Milner's late penalty secured a ninth consecutive win in all competitions for Klopp's men, a result he called "really massive".
The German said: "We spoke a lot about this game, how special it is, how special the situation is for the opponent. It was not a game for playing around. It was a battle of will, who wants it more."
Â
BONE HARD
Dry pitches are dangerous for the players injury-wise... the ball doesn't roll that quick and it's difficult for the fluency of the game.
JURGEN KLOPP, Liverpool manager, is not happy with the pitch at Cardiff.
He also revealed that Wijnaldum's strike was from "not from the training ground, but from the dressing room at half-time when the boys decided to do that".
He said: "We put a lot of emphasis on set pieces. We know Cardiff are outstandingly strong on offensive set pieces but, from time to time, they have problems with defensive set pieces. Some of the boys obviously found that out.
"A brilliant goal, I loved it."
He blasted the playing surface, which was not watered despite the baking temperatures and was "bone hard".
He said: "The ball didn't roll like normal. Everybody saw it. Dry pitches are dangerous for the players injury-wise and you know why people leave the pitch dry.
"The ball doesn't roll that quick and it's difficult for the fluency of the game."
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock denied he had ordered his groundsmen not to water the pitch and did some finger pointing of his own - at Mohamed Salah, who won Milner's spot kick. He accused the forward of going down too easily and that he could not have "got much higher off the diving board".
Klopp insisted it was a penalty because Cardiff captain Sean Morrison "used the hand four or five times".
He started the mind games ahead of City's tricky trip to United, who were routed 4-0 at Everton on Sunday, saying he is not counting his chickens yet.
"Even if United get a point or something, we still have to play games after that. We just have to stay focused on our things," said Klopp, whose team host Huddersfield on Friday.
"Some people up in Liverpool might ask us if we're thinking about Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals (on May 1).
"We'll be completely focused on Huddersfield."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
"I am probably at the moment a world-record holder, in the last seven years at least, in winning semi-finals, but if I wrote a book about that probably nobody would buy it." This is the seventh final for a Klopp-led team to since his brilliant Borussia Dortmund side won a German league and cup double in 2012.
Champions League final: 'World record holder at winning semi
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said Eden Hazard is free to leave the club if he wants to but the Italian hopes the forward stays at Stamford Bridge. Hazard has been linked with a move to
Hazard can leave Chelsea if he wants, says Sarri - Reuters
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian captain Thiago Silva has been granted French citizenship, he announced on Twitter on Friday. The 34-year-old's decision means PSG have an extra space in their squad for a non-EU player. Silva has played 274 games since joining the reigning Ligue 1 champions in 2012 and has 77 caps for Brazil.
PSG captain Thiago Silva receives French citizenship
"The Europa League is the right place for Manchester United at the moment" - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer • Would Ole use the Europa League as something positive? United States Restricted
'Right place for us': The 'true reflection' of Manchester
Trust in players crucial: Nazri, Football News & Top Stories
New kids strike for Azzurri, Football News & Top Stories
Ikhsan gets off mark in Norway His team were crying out for a saviour in Oslo, Norway, on Sunday and Ikhsan Fandi delivered. With one minute left and the game against Skeid tied at 2-2, five Raufoss IL players surged into the opponents' penalty box when Mikkel Maigaard whipped in a hopeful cross from the right.
Ferland Mendy set for Real move, says France coach Deschamps Soccer Football France coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday that Olympique Lyonnais left back Ferland Mendy will join Real
Ferland Mendy set for Real move, says France coach Deschamps
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed he has been impressed by the impact Brendan Rodgers has made at Leicester City since his arrival from Celtic in February. The Foxes have won five of their eight league games under Rodgers since he took over from Claude Puel, including a 3-0 victory over Arsenal last time out, […]
Everton Have Impressed Me - Pep Guardiola Warns of Tough Test
Aloysius Pang's ashes have been collected from Mandai Crematorium this morning (Jan 28) by his eldest brother. Grim-faced and wearing a pink T-shirt and flip-flops, Jefferson Pang was seen entering the complex at about 9.30am this morning, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
German factory gloom casts pall over euro-area economy
AC Milan out of Europe as Eintracht fans run riot at Lazio during the UEFA Europa League football match between Ludogorets Razgrad and FC Zurich at the Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad on December
AC Milan out of Europe as Eintracht fans run riot at Lazio
Singapore Football Young Lions beaten but impress new coach STREAK ENDS: Hougang United's (in green) win over the Courts Young Lions (in red), is their first since May 2013.
0 comments:
Post a Comment