LIVERPOOL ARE LOVING THE LATE, LATE SHOW

Reds keep finding a way to win — and it usually comes after the 80th minute!

IF Jurgen Klopp was relieved, as he headed back to liverpool’s team hotel in the early hours of Thursday, he certainly wasn’t surprised.

It had been a scratchy night against Monterrey, with a patchedup team labouring against doughty opponents, but liverpool once again hauled themselves over the line when it appeared they would take a false step. This team do not trip up.

roberto Firmino took the Superman role on this occasion, shattering Monterrey’s efforts to reach the Club World Cup final, but the fact that liverpool had another last-gasp hero who arrived in the nick of time did not come as a shock to his manager.

The added-time goal, which set up a clash with Flamengo tomorrow, made it 25 times that liverpool have scored after the 80th minute in 2019.

Some of those strikes have put the gloss on routine victories but the majority — such as Firmino converting Trent AlexanderArnold’s cross against Monterrey — have been decisive.

This season alone there have been seven such moments, ranging from James Milner’s nerveless 91st- minute penalty against leicester in october to the double whammy that Andrew robertson and Sadio Mane hit Aston Villa with the following month.

liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said: ‘We created the chance that we needed and we took it. That’s the one thing about this team. We never give up and keep going until the final kick. We’ve scored late goals in big moments and we don’t panic. We found a way to win again in the end.’

none of this would be possible if the squad was not tight. Klopp and his coaching staff put them under pressure to produce but they do not balk at what is asked of them. Henderson, for instance, played as a central defender against Monterrey and says he would be prepared to do it again if required.

Here was another sign of liverpool’s progress. They have won 47 of their last 63 fixtures in all competitions since Divock origi scored another added-time goal against everton on December 2, 2018, and Klopp is discovering, increasingly, the responsibility to produce is being shared.

liverpool have injuries to key players but they have coped better than Manchester City with this situation because of their depth.

Take the midfield, where Fabinho, who remains on crutches having sustained ankle ligament damage, has not been missed as much as he might have been.

Fabinho was injured on november 27 but, since then, naby Keita has popped up and scored three goals in three starts to give an indication of why Klopp paid £52.75million to sign him from leipzig. Alex oxlade-Chamberlain has also been important, so has Adam lallana.

lallana, in many respects, characterises everything Klopp wants from a player. He might not start as much as he used to but whether the midfielder plays for 60 seconds or 90 minutes, he knows exactly what he needs to do to ensure the team remain effective.

lallana scored the 85th-minute goal against Manchester united at old Trafford that rescued a point in october — and he is better placed than most to explain how to suppress personal desire for the benefit of the team.

‘We are liverpool FC, european champions,’ he said. ‘I’ve been fit all year, I’ve contributed at times, and we will need every member of this squad if we are going to be successful. Being successful is winning this competition, going for the league, being successful in the Champions league.

‘There are games every three days. You just can’t churn out the same team every week. At times it may be frustrating when you’re not getting the game time you want, because that is your reward for training hard.

‘But listen, we are unbeaten in god knows how many games and it’s just great to be fit and being part of winning those games every week. We’re going to need everyone. There is game time there for everyone. I’m in a great place. I’m enjoying my football and getting rewarded with games.’

Keeping those on the fringes mentally positive represented Klopp’s biggest test during the early stages of the campaign but a measure of how successful it was can be gauged by the fact lallana, Keita, origi and Xherdan Shaqiri have all been prominent in the past four weeks.

‘Be patient, keep training the way you’re training,’ was Klopp’s advice to lallana when he was striving for minutes, stressing there was a point when he would be very much involved, and the german was true to his word. ‘That was before the united game and obviously I came on then and had an impact straight away,’ lallana recalled.

‘We’ve not got the biggest squad, you see that when we get two or three injuries like we have at the minute. I’m having to play as a no 6, Hendo is having to play centre half, Milly is at right back. It was a good old- fashioned British back five out there. It is great to get the win at the end.’

A win that presents the possibility of clinching their third trophy in 2019 and creating some club history. ‘We are european champions and to be World Club champions, there are not many people who can say that,’ said lallana. ‘It’s like an addiction, you win one medal and you want to win another. You want to win more. let’s go for it.’

And they will go for it — right to the very end.