Klopp’s Anfield is now place to fear

JURGEN KLOPP has admitted the combination of a rebuilt stadium, a new defence and tactical tweak has made Anfield a very tricky place for opposing teams to win.

The Reds head into today’s Mersey derby with Everton having conceded just one goal in 11 Premier League home games since February.

It’s a formidable statistic that’s making Liverpool almost invincible in front of the Kop as they try to break a

29-year league title drought.

Klopp (right) said: “I hope it will stay like this. It should be normal that it is very difficult for other teams to play you in your own stadium.

“But, of course, things can still happen and there were a lot of steps to go when I arrived until other teams started to think Anfield is not the nicest place to go.

“A lot of things happened to the stadium and one of those was we even built a new stand.

“It’s a nice environment to be in, you feel comfortable, it’s our home and it’s nicer than all the other stadiums in the league. That is really cool.

“But I don’t think a lot of

Evertonians are going to think about our home record.”

Klopp has pinpointed the

£142million arrival of Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper

Alisson as vital in turning Liverpool’s defence from leaky to watertight.

He said: “From his first second here, Virgil has been brilliant.

“I knew long before he signed the contract Virgil would be outstanding as a player. The mix of his playing ability and leadership makes him outstanding. “Alisson may be Brazilian but he is probably less South American than some of you. He is from the colder part of Brazil, the opposite part to Bobby Firmino, and it makes him pretty much European.

“So he has settled quickly. He is very calm, very good. He is everything we thought when we signed him which is good news actually.

“If they have given confidence to the others, then good.”

The final part of Klopp’s three-point plan for success has meant a switch of tactics from gung-ho to more cautious to protect points.

The German boss said: “Of course, we knew we had to work on it. It was all about being as stable as possible in all the games.

“In the moments where we couldn’t play our game, we lost concentration in these situations and gave games away.” Klopp today has to decide whether Naby Keita or Fabinho will replace suspended skipper Jordan Henderson in the Reds’ engine room. STEVE BATES