Jurgen Klopp appeared particularly encouraged by his Liverpool side’s latest performance after suffering the disappointment of an abysmal performance against Brighton at the weekend.
Looking back at the 1-0 win over Wolves, Dominic King noted in a tweet that the German head coach seemed even more enthused with Harvey Elliott’s 93rd-minute tackle than his stunning opening goal.
Jurgen Klopp celebrated a 93rd minute tackle from Harvey Elliott more than he did his goal. That was the performance he wanted to see, a base to build from. Ibo Konate, Joe Gomez, Stefan Bajcetic were relentless. Thiago Alcantara provided the guile
— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) January 17, 2023
After bemoaning a lack of intensity in the middle of the park as the Reds’ tried and tested options in Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson failed to impress, this was exactly what the doctor ordered as far as combativeness was concerned.
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To be completely fair to the former Bayern Munich star, he’s been the shining light of the three aforementioned midfielders, supplying plenty of gusto in the middle of the park – though was this time supported by options capable of matching him for effort and effectiveness.
“In the end it’s just passion, putting in a foot, a leg, or the body and blocking the shots when we needed,” Klopp spoke of his side’s performance (via BBC Iplayer).
It leaves the manager with a few difficult selection calls to make ahead of Chelsea’s visit at the weekend, though, on the basis of the victory over Wolves, he’d be well-advised not to make any changes.
“It’s my job to help the boys, to find a formation where they feel good in the first place and where they can find the challenges,” the 55-year-old continued.
“Then of course on the pitch the boys have to make it with intensity and stuff like this.
“I think Stefan and the whole midfield today was very compact with the front-three and midfield three, so it was difficult for Wolves to find their key players.”
It all depends on Keita and Thiago’s ability to stay fit, of course, which is far from a guarantee given their difficult injury records, which may be incentive enough to dip into the market once more for a dependable operator.