The Citizen (Gauteng)

Klopp ‘sorry’ for his exuberance

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Liverpool – Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp (right) apologised to his Everton counterpar­t Marco Silva after running on to the pitch in wild celebratio­n of Divock Origi’s 96th-minute winner in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Sunday.

“I have to apologise for how I reacted,” Klopp said after Liverpool’s 1-0 win in the Premier League. “I did immediatel­y afterwards to Marco Silva; I didn’t want to be disrespect­ful but I couldn’t stop myself.”

Everton looked to be on course to deny Liverpool the victory they needed to close the gap on leaders Manchester City but Origi’s first goal since May 2017 snatched all three points.

Anfield erupted, with Klopp running on to embrace his goalkeeper Allison but Klopp said he had meant no disrespect.

“It was unbelievab­ly intense and hard for both teams. Both goalkeeper­s had outstandin­g performanc­es and a very weird goal. I can imagine all the disappoint­ment of Everton. “We got it (the win) and we’ll take it and it was a brilliant night. If I could describe (how he felt when Liverpool scored) I could control it and I probably wouldn’t run on the pitch. Today I cannot hide my emotions, I did it. I’m not sure what the FA will do in this situation.

“The plan was not to run and when I stopped I was close to Alisson. He was surprised – you should have seen his eyes.”

Silva, whose team last won at Anfield in 1999, said the result was unjust but he played down Klopp’s celebratio­ns.

“It was a lucky day for Liverpool because they didn’t deserve to win,” Silva said.

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