Klopp urges Liverpool to maintain push for quadruple
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called on his players to keep pushing for a historic quadruple after their thrilling FA Cup final shootout victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
In a repeat of February’s League Cup final, Liverpool edged Chelsea on penalties, 6-5, after 120 minutes of absorbing football ended goalless, despite both teams creating a string of chances to break the deadlock.
Substitute full-back Kostas Tsimikas scored the decisive penalty after goalkeeper Alisson Becker saved Mason Mount’s effort, sparking wild celebrations among Liverpool players, staff, and supporters.
The victory means Liverpool stay in contention to become the first English team to win all four major trophies in the same season. The Reds face Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28, and trail Manchester City by four points in the Premier League.
Liverpool travel down to Southampton tomorrow as they look to close the gap back down to a single point.
“The quadruple, it’s outstanding that we can talk about it, it’s crazy,” Klopp said after Saturday’s win in London. “But we play against Southampton and we have no clue who can play. We will have to make a few changes.
“It will be incredibly tough. The quadruple is on if you like, but also off as well.”
The injuries in the final to Mohamed Salah, who was replaced just after the halfhour mark, and Virgil van Dijk could be some cause for concern, but Klopp does not expect either player to be sidelined for long.
“I think they will both be fine, for Tuesday we will see. We will train on Sunday and if they are available I will take it,” he said.
Liverpool’s first FA Cup triumph since 2006 was especially meaningful for Klopp, who has now completed the set of winning all possible trophies and the German lavished praise on his team for their latest effort.
“My team knows exactly what I think of them. This is a trophy for the whole club. It’s massive, it means the world,” Klopp said.
“You saw with the performance what it means to the players. It’s massive. It’s game number 60 in a very intense season and pulling out a performance like this is absolutely incredible.”
Klopp also revealed that Liverpool’s penalty success was in part due to their work with a company who specialise in neuro science.
“The penalties are a lottery but we did it again. We work with a neuro company, they got in contact a few years ago,” he said.
“They said we can train penalty shooting. I said that sounds interesting, come over. We met, we worked together. This trophy is for them, like the League Cup.”