Klopp warns of stern Chelsea test
Reds boss pays tribute to Lampard and his ‘exciting young team
It reminds me a little bit of my team at Dortmund years back when they were really young Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager
● Jurgen Klopp warned Liverpool to brace for a fierce fight with the Chelsea youngsters that remind him of the thrilling Borussia Dortmund sides that took Germany and Europe by storm.
Klopp, whose Premier League leaders take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge today, built a dynamic team in his seven years at Dortmund fuelled by gifted prodigies including Mario Goetze, Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski.
He sees more than a few similarities between the Dortmund teams that won the Bundesliga in consecutive seasons and reached the Champions final in 2013, and the way Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has put his faith in the Blues’s kids.
“It’s a really exciting team, it reminds me a little bit of my team at Dortmund years back when they were really young, even younger than this Chelsea team,” Klopp said. “People always talked about how young they are, but they only played because they were that good; they didn’t play because they were that young.
“They brought in Christian Pulisic in the summer and all the players around him have the same value — Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, (Callum) Hudson-Odoi.
“A good team, all my respect. They are a proper contender for pretty much everything.”
Academy graduates Abraham, Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all enjoyed strong starts to Lampard’s first season in charge, with Chelsea’s transfer ban forcing their new manager to give the youngsters an opportunity that was hard to come by in previous years of big spending by the Blues.
Abraham already has seven goals this season, while Mount is hopeful of featuring today after recovering from an ankle injury suffered in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat against Valencia.
Liverpool head to Chelsea having won all of their opening five league matches, but with only one away win against top six opposition in their previous 12 attempts.
Despite his praise for Chelsea’s young tyros, Klopp must fancy his chances of ending that frustrating streak against a team still looking for their first home win under Lampard.
Liverpool had their own midweek blip in the Champions League, with a 2-0 loss at Napoli bringing the holders back down to earth after their superb start to the domestic season. But Klopp’s team sit five points clear of champions Manchester City thanks to their perfect start.
The Reds have already beaten Chelsea on penalties to win the European Super Cup after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul in August.
“There are different ways to win away games, we have to find a way to find one,” Klopp said.
“We go there to get a result, you can’t go to Chelsea and have a guarantee that you are going to win the game, they are just too strong for that.
“I think in 2016, we won against all of the top six and had all of the problems. Now we are much more successful winning all the other games.”
While Liverpool have their sets sight on a first English title since 1990, Lampard knows Chelsea are likely to have to settle for a top four challenge following the transfer ban and close-season departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. —