Klopp’s Liverpool have the swagger to go all the way
UNBEATEN at Anfield in 19 matches since January, Liverpool are a serious proposition under Jurgen Klopp these days, as Watford may find out this afternoon.
What’s more, there is a swagger about the club of Shankly, Paisley, Dalglish and Benitez that means their players no longer have to be bashful whenever the notion of a Premier League title challenge is raised.
Midfielder Emre Can, 22, is not a natural braggart, but he doesn’t shy away from the fact that in just over 12 months Klopp has turned Liverpool into genuine challengers to end their 27-year wait to be champions.
‘If you play for Liverpool, for such a big club, the target always has to be to win silverware,’ said Can. ‘We have to look from game to game, that is the most important thing, but of course we want to win the title.
‘Our start to the season doesn’t surprise us, no. I think everyone knows we have a very strong squad and we have confidence enough to say that we want to win titles.’
Liverpool finished a modest eighth last season and lost two cup finals, but have kept pace with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea at the top of the table despite having to start with a run of away games while Anfield was being redeveloped.
Can twice had to face Klopp’s Dortmund in the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen. ‘When teams come to Anfield, they don’t think they will win the games easily. It is not nice to play against us,’ he said.
‘I know that because when I used to play against a Jurgen Klopp team in Germany, it was never nice to play against them. They counter-pressed. If you had the ball, the opponent is coming and you have to play quickly. That is what teams are thinking about us.
‘Pre-season was very hard. I remember the manager saying that the target was to be the fittest team in the league. If you look at the statistics, we are the best for high intensity. We run a lot of kilometres.’
That workrate — players including Can regularly cover more than 11 kilometres every game — hasn’t come at the expense of skill. The front three of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane interchange positions regularly to devastating effect. Can and Jordan Henderson pull the strings in midfield.
Everything seems to be falling into place. Not having any European football to contend with gives Klopp’s players breathing space between weekend fixtures.
Their squad looks strong, with Daniel Sturridge and Georgino Wijnaldum not having starting places in recent weeks.
‘I knew before he (Klopp) came that he was a little bit crazy, positive crazy, and that is how he is,’ says Can. ‘We have a similar style of play to his Dortmund team. Similar, but not the same, because we have different players.’
Can made sure he was available to help Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan and goalkeeper Loris Karius when they arrived from Germany last summer.
The Liverpool players regularly go out to eat together as a sign of their collective spirit, though they haven’t yet all been to Can’s personal favourite, Belly, in the slightly bohemian Lark Lane next to the city’s main park. It’s a Turkish place, a nod to Can’s own family roots.
Having missed games earlier this season with a knee injury, Can has regained his place and is a key man in the team, his passing helping them get up the pitch. The only disappointment is he hasn’t been named in Germany’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
All that rest might prove beneficial later on in the season given Liverpool’s all-action style.
‘I don’t think being out of Europe is an advantage right now but it might be at the end of the season,’ said Can, whose agent is in talks with the club about a new contract.
Can joined Liverpool from Leverkusen in a £10million deal shortly after their famous 2014 title bid under Brendan Rodgers collapsed at the very end. They are ready for another crack.