MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed Wednesday’s 7-1 Champions League win away to Rangers has completely changed the mood within the group ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City.
The Reds have endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 season, particularly in the Premier League, where they are 10th with 10 points from eight games. Klopp’s side also lost their opening Champions League game with a poor 4-1 loss away to Napoli, compounding their issues.
Wednesday’s emphatic win in Glasgow, which included a record-breaking Mohamed Salah hat-trick within six minutes and 12 seconds, came after losing 3-2 to Arsenal.
Klopp argued the win had made the mood “completely different” and even joked about getting drunk amid the celebrations.
“It changed the mood, definitely,” Klopp told reporters. “It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one.
“It changes the mood completely and that’s good, but we all know who we are welcoming on Sunday and this will be a different game. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we’ve got tonight than any other.”
Klopp utilised Salah off the bench against Rangers, coming on in the 68th minute, along with Diogo Jota, who was a 73rd-minute substitute before providing the assists for all three of the Egyptian’s goals.
Andy Robertson returned from a knee injury to make his first appearance since the Napoli loss in early September as a 67th-minute substitute as well.
Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among those brought off, although Klopp declined to give much away when asked if the changes were in preparation for City.
“The changes tonight were because we could do it, but Diogo Jota didn’t start because I got a call this morning that he feels a little bit his muscle,” the German said.
“He could play but he should not play for too long, so it was my decision to decide do I start him for 30 minutes or do we bring him [on] for 20? So that was obviously the right thing to do.
“Hendo played a lot, Darwin now played a lot after not playing that much and you have all of these kind of things in your mind when you do the changes.
“Actually, the first 11 was really good but the changes made gave us the next step with us and that was very, very pleasing. It was good, but that’s it and now we recover and prepare for the next game.”
On taking on City, who are second in the Premier League, he added: “We don’t have to make a big thing of it, but the best football team in the world right now is coming to Anfield on Sunday.
“We will see what we can do, but it’s not now that we are with a big mouth and telling them come and we are waiting. Not at all. It was for us tonight, for different reasons, incredibly important. Yes, 7-1 is a freak result, we know that.”
