DOMINIC IS PRICELESS FOR KLOPP
Cut-price teen Solanke sets up Mane for the winner to put Coutinho talk on hold for a while!
IN a transfer window where the figures have gone haywire, it is somehow reassuring that Liverpool’s winner was created by a player likely to cost £110million less than Barcelona’s latest bid for Philippe Coutinho.
Teenage forward Dominic Solanke, who left Chelsea to join Liverpool this summer in order to play more first-team football, made his contribution only two minutes after coming on as a substitute. He showed a real hunger to press and get into the penalty area then set up Sadio Mane’s finish.
As he was out of contract at Stamford Bridge, Solanke will only cost Liverpool around £4m in compensation.
And while Jurgen Klopp is understandably weary of talking about the Coutinho saga, he was only too happy to praise the 19-year-old who closed down Palace’s holding midfielder Luka Milivojevic and nicked the ball for Mane to fire home.
‘We had good moments but no one was in the box because Danny Sturridge, Sadio and Roberto Firmino were involved in the build-up.
‘When Dominic came on, he stood awake and put the foot in. It was great counter-pressing and Sadio was alone and he could score,’ said Klopp, whose side have started with four points out of six despite criticism of their defending and lack of purchases.
With Coutinho missing again due to a reported back injury, it was a largely frustrating afternoon at Anfield against a Palace team who had won on their last three visits.
Frank de Boer’s side were set up to avoid a repeat of last weekend’s embarrassing 3-0 home defeat against Huddersfield.
And when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey made fine saves from James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Firmino, it looked as if they might hold out for their first point of the season.
Sturridge, in his first game of the season after his latest ailment, a thigh strain, made way for record signing Mo Salah after an hour and 11 minutes later Klopp took the gamble of throwing on Solanke for midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.
The increase in urgency worked and Mane’s close-range strike was his 15th in 29 Premier League games since moving from Southampton.
The margin of victory could have been greater with Scotland international left-back Andy Robertson almost capping his impressive Liverpool debut with a long-range shot that Hennessey tipped away in spectacular fashion.
Although Palace rarely broke, they did miss a couple of corking chances. First, skipper Jason Puncheon was denied by Simon Mignolet after 41 minutes. And in the second half former Anfield striker Christian Benteke fluffed his lines by shooting over from four yards after a neat cutback by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
‘The chances we got, we had to punish them,’ said De Boer. ‘I told the players afterwards if we play with that intensity, results will come.’
It has been a strange start for Klopp. A creditable 3-3 draw at Watford was buried under an avalanche of criticism about Liverpool’s defence but they should reach the Champions League group stages on Wednesday night when they defend a 2-1 lead from the play-off first leg in Hoffenheim.
The natives maybe feel Liverpool should have spent more money, even though they broke the club transfer record for Egyptian flyer Salah. Many fans seem to feel comfortable about cashing in on Coutinho, although Klopp repeated again that this was unlikely.
Perhaps Sturridge illustrates one reason why they should sell at top price. The forward was valued at £50m a year ago but, after persistent hip problems last season, he has missed the start of this campaign and hasn’t scored a goal at Anfield in 2017. The club would be lucky to get £25m for him now and there was little to make England manager Gareth Southgate jump out of his seat in the stadium yesterday.
One Sturridge free-kick on the edge of the box hit the wall and it must have been galling for him that Milner took responsibility for the next set-piece in a threatening position.
‘I thought our defending was outstandingly good,’ said Klopp, basking in the satisfaction of a clean sheet after bristling at last week’s game at Vicarage Road.
‘Klavan and Matip did really well and the protection was really good. Against Watford we were too deep, too early.
‘Yes, the football could have been better in the first half, 100 per cent. But one pass and one goal and the world is much nicer.’
Mane and Robertson started the match-winning move down the left before the Senegal forward dashed into the box to capitalise on Solanke’s groundwork.
‘A wonderful goal,’ said Klopp, who said he would have no issue with Sturridge receiving an England call-up on Thursday despite his lack of action this season.
At least the Kop were able to cheer one Brazilian — with Firmino putting in a tremendous shift which deserved a goal.
Repeating the official line on Coutinho’s future, Klopp said: ‘There is nothing new from the injury side and I am informed about everything in the club and nothing has changed.’
On restoring Coutinho to the team group after the transfer window, Klopp said on TV: ‘It is not an easy situation for anyone but we can only deal with that when it comes.’
And on Sturridge’s availability for World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia, Klopp added: ‘Why shouldn’t he be?
‘If Gareth wants to pick him, he can. Daniel had an outstanding preseason He needs each game he can get.’