Reds ready for title tilt

– Jurgen Klopp (above) says he has high expectations for Liverpool’s ability to challenge for the Premier League title after spending the most of any of his rivals in the close season.

Liverpool spent a reported £176 million bringing in, among others, Brazilians goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Fabinho and Klopp hopes to deliver Liverpool’s first league title in the Premier League era, with the last of their 18 crowns coming in 1990.

In his pre-match press conference yesterday, ahead of Liverpool’s season opener against West Ham tomorrow, Klopp said Liverpool spent so much to build a squad with the depth necessary to be genuine title contenders.

“It was pretty normal there would be one season when we would spend more money,” Klopp said. “We had to create a squad which is strong enough and wide enough to cope with the Premier League.”

Klopp, who took over the Liverpool job in 2015 after guiding Borussia Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles, says he expects his players to fight to the last breath for the league title.

“We have to be in the championship mode,” he said. “Let’s go for it until we have no more air or oxygen, really go for it.”

Klopp, whose longtime number two Zeljko Buvac left abruptly towards the end of last term, fell back on one of his favourite analogies saying Liverpool were Sylvester Stallone’s fictional boxer Rocky Balboa rather than his Soviet opponent Ivan Drago.

“We are still Rocky Balboa and not Ivan Drago, we are the ones who have to do more and fight more, that must be our attitude. We did not reach anything yet, we have been in finals and if we get there again we should try to win it.”

Klopp is yet to win any silverware at Liverpool despite reaching the finals of the 2016 League Cup and Europa League and last season’s Champions League. – AFP

Also see Pages 39, 40 & 41