Keeper earns Klopp’s praise

– Juergen Klopp singled out much-derided Simon Mignolet (above) for special praise after the goalkeeper stood firm in the face of a West Bromwich Albion barrage to help grind out a priceless 1-0 away win.

Klopp was relieved to see his Liverpool side hold on despite their failure to add a second goal to Roberto Firmino’s first-half header at The Hawthorns on Sunday.

Victory took the Reds back into third place in the Premier League, two points clear of fourth-placed Manchester City, as the scramble for places in next season’s Champions League hots up.

They were grateful for a smart save by the Belgian from Matt Phillips late on, as well as some poor West Brom finishing, and Klopp challenged his players to maintain their steely focus.

Several times in the dying minutes Mignolet resorted to punching clear high West Brom set-pieces or deliveries.

Klopp admitted it was not particularly attractive from the stopper – but it worked.

West Brom manager Tony Pulis also singled out his goalkeeper Ben Foster, who raced forward for two corners during the late push for an equaliser, almost conceding on the counter-attack to Liverpool substitute Alberto Moreno.

And he has now instructed his No.1 not to repeat the move.

“I’ve just had a chat with him. I don’t like keepers going up for corners personally but I’ve never said it to Ben. He didn’t know. He does now!” Pulis said.

“We came up against a strong side today and we gave them a game.

“That’s what we want to do in every game we play. We’ve played Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool and given teams with resources way beyond our dreams a game, and that’s what I want to do.” –

West Bromwich