Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EYES ON THE PRIZE
No ifs, no buts... we’re going for the league title says Klopp
THERE are no excuses nor caveats this time, no ifs or buts. For Jurgen Klopp this season, the aim is clear: “We are going for the title.”
He was speaking in rarified company, alongside Carlo Ancelotti, winner of league titles in four countries and three Champions Leagues, and Diego Simeone, who has won La Liga and is twice runner-up for Europe’s biggest prize.
They know a thing or two about lifting trophies, and both nodded solemnly as, ahead of the Audi Cup, the Liverpool manager outlined what the plan has to be with a club the size and history of Liverpool.
Although he believes he knows, Klopp wants to gauge where his young, improving Reds team is compared to the might of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, who they will meet in the mini-tournament here in Germany.
For him, the job ahead is now brutally simple: “Yes, we will be playing for the championship. We don’t start a season by not having any ambitions. At
Liverpool, we have to have our goals,” he explained. “That’s what we did last season – we aimed for the top, and we finished fourth. But I think we have a very good team now.
“We did have a bit of bad luck last season. I think we can play a little bit better. Let’s hope everything will work very well and that there isn’t much more to improve.
“We have to work very hard on it and we’re doing that.”
Klopp knows the hard work must come from him as much as from his talented team. He knows he must ensure his biggest stars – Philippe Coutinho, in particular – don’t leave. Then he must bring in new faces to add depth.
So far, that has been a struggle. Barcelona are still loitering with intent around the little Brazilian, hoping to attract his attention, while Klopp’s two main transfer targets have so far proved elusive, with RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita an apparent non-starter, while Virgil van Dijk remains a delicate political negotiation.
Yet Klopp believes in his team, and with Mohamed Salah adding pace to a potent front line bolstered by Daniel Sturridge, who looks fitter than he has in years, they will certainly score goals this season.
But the big question is, can they stop them? Bayern will be first to test the Liverpool defence this evening, in the Allianz Arena, and Klopp will be fascinated by his team’s response.
“We’re working very hard so it’s important to see what we can achieve against Bayern. Of course, they have their Asia tour behind them,” he said.
“We were also there but we came back earlier. It it is an absolute top team – it doesn’t matter what line-up he has. From my experience, they are always a difficult team to play, so I will be very excited to see what team they will have.”
The “he” Klopp referred to was Ancelotti, the manager sitting alongside him (with Simeone, Klopp and Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri, below). The Italian knows all about what it takes to win the Premier League, doing so with Chelsea in 2010, to go with titles in Italy, France and Germany.
Ancelotti has enjoyed some tense battles with Liverpool in his time, and revealed a fundamental respect for what the Reds stand for.
“Liverpool had a fantastic season. They played really well,” Ancelotti said. “They fought for the title, they reached qualification for the Champions League.
“I think the Champions League will be more competitive as there are really important English teams in the competition – United, City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool.
“I hope Jurgen will win in the qualification round and Liverpool will help make the Champions League more competitive.
“It will be more difficult to win.”