Jurgen Klopp’s view on Alberto Moreno’s injury time open goal miss could have been completely different had West Brom gone on to equalise.
Thankfully for Liverpool and Moreno in particular, the Reds managed to hold on for a valuable 1-0 win and spare the Spaniard’s blushes.
It’s a bank holiday Monday, Liverpool are third having made it back to back wins away from home and we can all look back on Moreno’s miss in good humour. The fact we did win means his teammates will undoubtedly be reminding him of it for some time.
Speaking after the game, Klopp touched on the incident and also discussed his admiration for the left-back.
“I told him after the game ‘I know everyone thinks you can play in Daniel Sturridge, but actually he would have been offside’. Maybe there was another option that I didn’t see, I’d have to watch it again, but it’s completely normal in a situation like this, you think you have to do this [shoot],” he told Liverpoolfc.com.
“He had a difficult few weeks but last week was really good and he deserved a few minutes, it was only a few minutes but that’s good. He’s a good boy, really. I would have been happy for him, actually, if he’d scored this goal, but [there was] excitement until the end, which is pretty much always the way it is when we are involved.”
Moreno’s future at the club remains uncertain with James Milner having cemented his place at left-back this season and Klopp reported to be keen on bringing in a replacement this summer.
That said, there has been little from Klopp directly to suggest he has turned his back on the former Sevilla man completely.