Klopp hails Reds’ record-equalling successive win
LIVERPOOL:JURGEN Klopp admitted he never expected Liverpool to make such a “special” charge towards the Premier League title after a record-equalling 3-2 victory against West Ham left the runaway leaders four wins from the clinching the trophy.
Klopp’s side were in danger of dropping Premier League points for the first time since their draw at Manchester United on October 20 after falling behind in the second half at Anfield on Monday.
Georginio Wijnaldum put Liverpool ahead early on but Issa Diop equalised soon after.
Pablo Fornals gave West Ham a lead, but Lukasz Fabianski’s blunder allowed Mohamed Salah to equalise with his 19th goal of the season. Sadio Mane scored with nine minutes left as Liverpool restored their 22-point lead over Manchester City. The escape ensured Liverpool equalled City’s top-flight record of 18 consecutive wins between August and December 2017.
“A couple of years ago, three or four maybe, in the beginning, I said we want to write our own stories, we want to create our own history,” Klopp said.
“Obviously, the boys took really seriously what I said there. It’s so special, the numbers are incredible, so difficult. We said it a couple of times, we spoke about wonderful games, brilliant games, we spoke about hard games, difficult games. In the end, that’s what counts,” Klopp said.
Liverpool’s 21st successive league victory at Anfield also equalled their own English topflight record for consecutive home wins, set by Bill Shankly’s team between January and December 1972. They need 12 points from their final 11 games to guarantee a first title since 1990.
They are unbeaten in their last 44 league matches, just five short of Arsenal’s all-time English record of 49. “We all know it’s very special, but in the moment we are really just in the situation and want to recover and prepare for the next one,” Klopp said.
‘TOO MUCH SEX HURTING BUCHAREST CLUB’
BUCHAREST: Gigi Becali, the flamboyant owner of Bucharest football club FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, thinks he knows what to blame for his team’s recent poor run in the Romanian league: too much of the wrong kind of exercise.
Romania’s most successful club with 26 league titles, FCSB have failed to win their last three games, and Becali said the players were having too much sex.
“My players are making love with their girlfriends too often, that’s why they aren’t playing football so well lately,” he told local media after FCSB’S 1-1 home draw against lowly Chindia Targoviste, which left them fourth in the standings, eight points behind leaders CFR Cluj. “Look at Dan Petrescu,” said Becali. “CFR players have sex only once a week. They meet with women only once a week.”