Klopp hails Liverpool’s fighting spirit

JURGEN Klopp praised Liverpool’s persistence as they did just enough to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a cool finish from Sadio Mane.

Liverpool fans were getting increasingly frustrated on Saturday as Klopp’s side struggled to break down Palace’s obdurate defence.

However, Senegal winger Mane finally made the difference, capitalising on a mistake by Luka Milivojevic to slot past the impressive Wayne Hennessey with 17 minutes to go.

The goal lifted the tension around Anfield as Liverpool secured their first league win of the season following last weekend’s frustrating 33 draw at Watford.

Rather than dwell on his team’s lack of cutting edge, Liverpool manager Klopp was happy with the way his players stuck to their task.

“It was a hard job. I have no idea how much we had the ball but it was a lot,” he said.

“We had moments in the first half but had to be more patient because they were deep. We didn’t score but we didn’t give counter-attacks away.

“We defended brilliantly and we had the ball all of the time – it felt like 85% possession. You need to make the right decisions and in the first half we didn’t.”

The build-up to this encounter was dominated by more speculation about the future of 25-year-old Brazilian Coutinho, Barcelona.

The La Liga giants offered £114million (R1.9-billion) for Coutinho on Friday, which Liverpool rejected, and club sources insist Klopp will not back down despite the player handing in a transfer request.

Coutinho only signed a new fiveyear contract in January and Klopp and Liverpool’s American owners remain insistent his future belongs on Merseyside.

Klopp had little further to say on the matter, apart from confirming that Coutinho’s back injury is still affecting his chances of selection and that he was still a Liverpool employee. — AFP playmaker Philippe who is wanted by