Liverpool will not give up chase of Man City: Klopp
Jurgen Klopp insisted Liverpool will not give up the chase of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after bouncing back to winning ways to beat Brentford 3-0 on Sunday.
Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino scored the goals as the Reds coped without the absence of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Victory lifts Klopp's men up to second, within 11 points of the runaway leaders, but they also have a game in hand on City.
"We don't have to convince anybody outside (the club). People who are with us, they want to enjoy the ride," said Klopp.
"This is not the situation to talk about a title race, 11 points with one game in hand. In a normal world (City win the league), but what is normal nowadays?"
Liverpool failed to take advantage of an extra man for over an hour as Thursday's League semi-final, first leg against Arsenal ended 0-0, sparking fears of how they will cope for the rest of the month without two of their main sources of goals.
And Klopp was happy to quieten the "noise" over the absence of Salah and Mane.
"We can cut off the public noise. We knew against Arsenal what was not right," added Klopp. "That a couple of world class players aren't here, we know that. We knew we didn't have to make a lot of it."
Klopp made just two changes from the Arsenal stalemate as Curtis Jones and Oxlade-Chamberlain were recalled to add extra creativity and dynamism to the midfield.
He was rewarded with a bright start as Diogo Jota headed over, Trent Alexander-Arnold flashed a shot just off target and Alvaro Fernandez made a brilliant save to deny Virgil van Dijk.
However, the Anfield crowd were growing restless until Brentford allowed Alexander-Arnold's corner to bounce inside the area and Fabinho headed in at the back post.
"We were unbelievable in the first half against one of the best teams in the world," said Brentford boss Thomas Frank.
"We kept them quiet. If we had gone to half time 0-0 it would have been a different story, but if we want to get points here we can't concede from set pieces."
The Bees went toe-to-toe with Liverpool in a pulsating 3-3 draw when the sides last met in September.
But the visitors only created one big chance to get back in the game when Bryan Mbuemo turned Joel Matip and shot inches wide.
Jota hit the post and then should have scored when firing too close to Fernandez in a one-on-one.
There was no doubt over the outcome, though, once Oxlade-Chamberlain's diving header turned Andy Robertson's perfect cross into the bottom corner.
Brentford were architects of their own downfall for the third goal as Fernandez's pass out from the back was seized upon by Roberto Firmino and he teed up Minamino to slot home from close range.
The home fans could relax for the final 15 minutes and pointedly took the chance to chant the name of former manager Rafael Benitez, who was sacked by rivals Everton on Sunday.
The Toffees are in danger of falling into a relegation battle after one win in 13 league games.
Brentford, by contrast, still enjoy a 10-point cushion over the bottom three in their first season in the top-flight for 74 years but remain in 14th.
相关文章
- Few things are eerier than a forgotten cemetery—grave markers standing forlorn and lost, often in pl2024-09-22
- 实力强企,科技引领!大丰收荣获2023“科技力产品”殊荣_南方+_南方plus12月23日,由南方农村报主办的“2023农财全球创新大会”成功举行,来自全国各地的企业、科研院所、协会、经销商代表3002024-09-22
中国平安紧急应对山西暴雨灾情 已接线上报案超2000起 最快12分钟结案
近日,山西多地连续遭遇极端强降雨天气,全省有18个县(市、区)降水超过200毫米,累计降水量最大为285.2毫米,全省59个国家气象站日降水量突破建站以来同期历史极值,其中,太原、阳泉、临汾、长治、吕2024-09-22- 日前,“海丝珍绣——青岛·澳大利亚两地现代刺绣精品展”在青岛民俗博物馆开幕,该展览展出了刺绣艺术家高青敏女士新创作的8.8米刺绣长卷《澳洲2024-09-22
North Korea says it conducted important test to develop multiple warhead missile
A trail of what appears to be a North Korean missile launch is seen from Incheon. North Kore on June2024-09-22四川省雅安市汉源县发生4.8级地震 我市已启动地震灾害三级应急响应
2022年5月20日08时36分在四川雅安市汉源县北纬29.67度,东经102.48度)发生4.8级地震,震源深度20千米。记者从雅安市应急管理局获悉,地震发生后,雅安市迅速启动地震灾害三级应急响应,2024-09-22
最新评论