Jürgen Klopp was all smiles at the full-time whistle on Sunday as the Reds claimed another huge win thanks to second-half goals from Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah.
Next up, the Reds travel to the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday with a 2-0 advantage over Porto before a trip to relegation-threatened Cardiff on Sunday.
The German was philosophical about our hunt for silverware in his post-match press conference stressing that: “We see it game by game.”
It will be challenging week for us, but, despite admitting the diffculty of those fixtures, Klopp claimed that, “The biggest challenge for us is always facing the world outside – you [journalists] and other people – because we don’t think like that.”
Think it’s fair to say Jurgen Klopp is buzzing with that result.
Watch live now on SS PL or follow online here: https://t.co/fAZYpZnMgp pic.twitter.com/mL6FD0FNLn
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 14, 2019
Externally, we’ve been surrounded by noise and doubts about our ability to hold our nerve against Manchester City, but Jürgen and the boys are focusing solely on their own business.
“Today, they [City] win and [did it] ask a question for us? If we think about them, yes, and if we don’t think about them, no”, Klopp bluntly stated.
“We play our game. If, for example, City lose today and we know it five minutes before our game, somebody tells us, ‘City lost’, that’s not a help. Then you lose your focus in that moment.
“What we want to do is collect as many points as possible, really. 85 points, four games to play, that means [we can get] 97. Good, let’s try. Let’s try that. If that’s enough, perfect, and if not, we cannot change it.
Klopp finally closes the book on that slip 📖🔚 pic.twitter.com/6gjcLAYRe4
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 15, 2019
The boss’ measured response is a welcome panacea to the doom merchants and naysayers.
This City side are one of the best teams ever to grace the Premier League, but we’re not too bad ourselves and the fact we keep pushing them right to the edge is a testament to our own greatness.
Klopp aimed further shots at the media and the world of punditry by stating that: “We didn’t lose it here or there or in this or that game.
“Very smart people will come out and say, ‘Yeah, but if you would have won against Leicester then you would be champions now’ and stuff like this. Only weak people bring something like this up.”
On a lighter and more conclusive note, Klopp jokingly claimed that “at this point we can finally close the slipping book – Robbo slipped and nothing happened, so it’s not a Liverpool thing. Done. All good.”
Read more: (Video) – Klopp’s brilliant reaction to Robbo’s 2nd half slip v Chelsea
Thankfully, any concerns that history would repeat itself were quickly extinguished when Gonzalo Higuaín took possession and the move broke down.
Klopp and the whole of Anfield exultantly revelled in it.
Robertson slipped, Chelsea fans whistled. Klopp responds with a fist pump and Anfield roars with support. My manager🔴❤️
— An (@AnfieldAn) April 14, 2019
“I am so proud of what the boys did today, and I loved, loved, loved the atmosphere – it was outstanding what the people did today. You could feel it, they are all on their toes, so let’s try to do that seven more times and then we see what we get for it.”
That’s all we can do – go for it against Porto and try and fight for league wins against Cardiff, Huddersfield, Newcastle, and Wolves. Get past Porto and we’ll have a semi-final tie where we’ll likely face Barcelona.
As well as the league, can we also dream of back-to-back Champions League finals and the double?
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