Klopp shocked to see new boy Shaqiri hit the ground running
JURGEN Klopp has been taken aback by the nature of Xherdan Shaqiri’s fast start to life at Liverpool, admitting it’s “not normal after four days in the club”.
This comes as the winger fired in a stunning overhead strike and set up Daniel Sturridge’s goal on his debut in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Manchester United.
Having been offered an extended break due to his World Cup commitments this summer, Shaqiri only joined up with his new team-mates on Tuesday after signing for the Merseyside club earlier this month.
Making his debut against United in the International Champions Cup, the £13m signing replaced Mohamed Salah at the interval before going on to deliver an impressive second half performance.
“That’s not normal after four days in the club, adapting that well to the style of play,” the Liverpool manager (below) explained.
“We wanted to help him a little bit with the position so that it’s not too complicated.
“We gave him a lot of freedom, offensively playing natural, plus offering runs in behind, which is what he did especially around the Sturridge goal.
“It was better than I would have expected, to be honest. We played over 90 minutes of really good football on a very difficult pitch for both teams.
“We played simple and quick, kept them moving. That was good.
“After the Dortmund game
[a 3-1 defeat] I didn’t feel really good but I knew I don’t have to make it bigger than it is.
“It’s a pre-season game so if you make mistakes you should lose. Today we don’t make it bigger of course.”
The Liverpool manager added: “For Shaq, in the moment he signed he wanted to stay immediately at Liverpool and train with us. I think it was a week after he finished the World Cup, so I said: ‘No, no, no. Go’. He came back a few days ago and he was really excited.
“For him it was very good moment in his career, having already had a real experience at Bayern, at Stoke and at Inter. “Those were important moments in his career and now we have him and he can play together with a few really nice football players.” Following the win over United, Liverpool immediately flew home and will start a pre-season training camp in France today.
New signing Alisson and fellow Brazilian Roberto Firmino will join the squad in Evian following their post-World Cup vacations.