Guardiola says Klopp made him ‘better’ ahead of Man City v Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp has acknowledged that two Liverpool injury blows have put a dampener on the mood following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City. Diogo Jota was withdrawn at the Etihad Stadium before Alisson began clutching his hamstring in the game’s dying embers, which could force Klopp to reshuffle over the coming weeks.
Having won every single home game in all competitions this calendar year, City looked on course to notch yet another victory when Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s side.
A sharp-shooting Trent Alexander-Arnold rescued a point for Liverpool with 10 minutes to play, however, leaving them one point behind the hosts at the top of the Premier League table, ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Brentford.
There were still negatives to ponder, however, as Klopp was forced to withdraw Jota before the hour mark, and fans watched on nervously in second-half stoppage time when Alisson had to see out the game with what appeared to be a knock.
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“Unfortunately we’ve lost Diogo with a muscle [issue], I don’t know exactly,” Klopp told Sky Sports after the game. “And Alisson, we’ll have to see. He felt something as well so that’s not cool, but besides that it’s a good result for us.”
Liverpool and City didn’t provide the usual high-quality spectacle fans are generally treated to when they collide in the Premier League. And Klopp went on to suggest that the draw represents a missed opportunity given that Guardiola’s side were off colour.
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“I told the boys at half-time, ‘Imagine if we played good’,” said the former Borussia Dortmund boss. “We can be much better, that’s the problem. Having good moments but not feeling them, having bad moments and feeling them properly, that opens the game up for the opponent always.
“We had good moments, I wish we could have had more, but for the moment we are in, I’m fine with that. A point is absolutely okay. It’s been a long time since [City] drew a game [at the Etihad] so we should take that as a success.”
Jota would be a big miss for Liverpool if he is forced to sit out upcoming games against LASK in the Europa League and Fulham at Anfield next weekend. The Portuguese has been amongst the goals this term, racking up eight in all competitions.
Alisson’s injury will have little impact on Klopp’s European team selection, with back-up stopper Caoimhin Kelleher expected to start regardless, and it remains to be seen whether the Brazilian recovers in time to face the Cottagers.
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