Outgoing Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has boosted his team’s ego by praising them for their fight against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The Premier League six-goal thriller at Anfield saw six different players from both teams get on the scoresheet. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott scored for the hosts while the visitors had Richarlison and Son Heung-Min on the scoresheet.
The Reds’ victory meant that Spurs will not finish in the top four this season but will finally return to European football thanks to their current status as the league’s fifth-best team. Liverpool, meanwhile, secured their own European football season with the win while also holding on to third place with the hopes of sneaking into second place if Arsenal or Manchester City should drop the ball.
Speaking about his team’s performance, Klopp said: “Did I expect us to be 4-0 up? No. Did I expect us to be at 4-2 and Ali [Alisson Becker] has to make two more worldie saves? No. But when you think about it, it’s really not unlikely because before the game Aston Villa lost and it means for Tottenham, if they win, they are fully back in the fight for the Champions League.
“For us, it means we are third – we cannot change that probably anymore in either direction. We spoke before the game about it that for high-performance sports, you need to be motivated. Actually, three points should be enough but it’s not always. For the boys, it was today, I loved that.
“I really like the way the boys played, I liked the individual performances, how we played together – so many good things today. Yes, conceding two, ask Ali – he is really not happy about that. But it was a really good football game, and I think that’s what everybody should expect from us – results as well. We delivered both. And the moments, how I said, I think they are a little bit explainable, should not happen anyway, but didn’t count really today.”
Klopp was also asked about Harvey Elliott, who has been one of the brightest sparks at Liverpool this season. The academy graduate has slotted in nicely into the Reds midfield and is continuing th extradition of excellent academy graduates at Liverpool.
“Harvey is exceptional,” Klopp said. “[He is] still so young, so exceptional. He was, for a long time, one of our best players when he played right wing when Mo was injured or at the Africa Cup of Nations. He played exceptional. I think in the midfield position, it was probably [in the] top three or four performances of him today – it was really good and the goal was exceptional.
“Everybody needs moments to gain even more confidence. He is [in] a good moment, but that helps, definitely. He worked really hard in the other direction as well, he did really well.
