Liverpool character no shock for Jurgen Klopp as Chelsea win extends perfect start

Liverpool FC via Getty Images
David Lynch22 September 2019

Jurgen Klopp insisted he is no longer surprised by the character shown by his Liverpool team after they battled to a hard-fought win over Chelsea.

Having taken a two-goal lead into half-time at Stamford Bridge, the Reds were ultimately left hanging on for their three points in the face of a second-half onslaught.

N’Golo Kante’s brilliant solo goal closed the gap with 20 minutes remaining, setting up an end to the game that saw the hosts dominate possession and create several chances.

However, Klopp was not shocked to see his players ultimately grind out a victory that keeps them five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

He said: “I think I shouldn’t be surprised anymore about the character of my team, to be honest.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Liverpool | 22/09/2019

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“We don’t tell them everyday: your character is brilliant! It’s not like this. We expect that we fight for everything.

“We have a big job to do in a really difficult league. Everybody thinks we should be first or second and we have to play the football for it, we don’t think about these things.

“Without character, life is difficult, but football is impossible. I was not in doubt about that.

“The boys did really well, they fought really hard, and all good. I don’t think there’s any other way to win here. It’s a big one.”

Liverpool’s advantage at the end of an evenly contested first 45 minutes owed much to their prowess from set-pieces.

And, while Klopp could take little credit for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s opener, he hailed the second as the result of hours spent on the training ground.

Getty Images

He continued: “The Robbo one is from the training ground but, [with] the Trent one, I really think the boys have the best view on the pitch and it’s their job to see the best opportunity to score.

“It was a direct free-kick, obviously, so he could have scored with that, but this little move changed the whole angle and made it pretty impossible for Kepa to make a save. It was a brilliant goal.

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

“I said it before and it’s no problem to say it but Peter Krawietz and our analysts they do a really brilliant job around set-pieces, especially corners.

“Direct free-kicks are the boys’ job, we cannot show them how to shoot that ball, you have to do it every often and you will be good at it.

“But I loved the corners in the second half as well, where we probably should have scored twice, that would have been great.”

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