A cool dude but cold-hearted like an assassin

IT’S easy to dismiss Jurgen Klopp as laid-back because he looks like a West Coast surfing dude. But his dropping of Simon Mignolet shows he can be as ruthless as an assassin. Never mind that the Belgium keeper rescued Liverpool against Hoffenheim when he saved a penalty – Klopp feels he does not suit his fast playing style, so he was out. As quick as Liverpool move the ball, Klopp wants them to do it with even more pace. That means playing it out from the back quicker and he feels Loris Karius (above) is better at this than Mignolet. Hence Mignolet was left to watch on stoney-faced from behind the dug-out in his club suit, sipping a coffee, while Karius started. Karius kicked well, even if the German nearly lost possession to Danny Welbeck twice, and played his part in Liverpool’s scintillating 4-0 display. Klopp tried to sweeten the pill for Mignolet by saying he will return for Liverpool’s next game at Manchester City as he will employ different tactics. But he hinted at a possible job share for his goalkeepers as he said Karius was the right choice for this match. “Simon is a clear No.1, but the other two are strong goalkeepers,” he said. “Simon has been outstanding. He won the race in pre-season. He’s a machine, he’s always reliable. “I told Si yesterday and it’s not that he gave me a hug and said, ‘Boss, that’s what we should do’, but I wanted to do it and I wanted to have Loris in goal. He did a lot of good things and played a lot of cool football.”