Coach Klopp praises Liverpool’s maturity
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp hailed his side’s maturity as Premier League contenders after breaking down an obdurate Brighton thanks to Mohamed Salah’s 50thminute penalty in a 1-0 win yesterday.
Without a shot on target in the first half, Liverpool struck early in the second after Pascal Gross fouled Salah and the Egyptian fired in the spot-kick.
Klopp’s men had lost their past two games in very contrasting fashion. Manchester City inflicted Liverpool’s only Premier League defeat of the campaign nine days ago before a much-changed side lost in the FA Cup to Wolves.
Liverpool were far from their fluent best on England’s south coast but ground out a vital win to move seven points clear of City, who play at home to Wolves tonight, thanks to a 13th clean sheet in 22 league games this season.
“You have to work hard if you want to be successful and we were ready,” Klopp said.
Skilful finishes from Pedro and Willian earnt Chelsea a 2-1 win over battling Newcastle, keeping the London side fourth, a point behind Spurs.
Arsenal slumped to a 1-0 defeat at West Ham after Declan Rice scored his first goal for the Hammers.
Burnley recorded a fourth consecutive win in all competitions when they came back to beat Fulham 2-1 courtesy of two own goals.
Watford beat Crystal Palace 2-1, while Southampton climbed out of the drop zone with a 2-1 away win at Leicester, and Cardiff and Huddersfield finished 0-0.