KLOPP’S ALWAYS HUNGARY FOR MORE SUCCESS

Anfield boss holds up the miracle of Berne to warn Reds that in football complacency is a cardinal sin

JURGEN KLOPP has used Germany’s World Cup win in 1954 to warn his Liverpool players against complacency tonight.

Klopp grew up on tales of ‘the miracle of Berne’ and how Sepp Herberger’s West Germany recovered from losing 8-3 to Hungary in the group stage to beat them 3-2 in the final just 14 days later.

He does not want Liverpool to make the same mistake as Ferenc Puskas and Co when they face Maribor at Anfield just two weeks on from thumping them 7-0 (below).

Klopp has told the Reds they must be as professional as they were from the first minute of the previous game, which was the club’s biggest-ever European away win.

“We are professional football players,” said the Liverpool boss. “I’m the manager. I use the last game only to analyse.

“I am from Germany so I know in 1954 we lost heavily against Hungary in the group stage and then beat them in the World Cup Final.

“Nobody would have expected that, but that’s football. That’s how I learned pretty early in my life that anything is possible.

“It’s all about our performance. We have to use the little advantage of being the home team, use the crowd, be spot on again.

“We did so well in Maribor and that was the reason for the result – not the quality of the opponent.

“At the end it looked like a big difference, but it was only because of our start. We have to do that again.

“We have to do like we did in the first game. Two or three of the goals were because of our pressing situations. I don’t expect a lot of easy spaces. We will have to work for this.”

Perhaps dreading the return at Anfield, Maribor coach Darko Milanic –who famously lasted just 32 days as Leeds boss in 2014 before falling foul of Massimo Cellino – and his squad arrived on Merseyside only last night.

Their players merely had time for a walk around the Anfield pitch, which Kopites expect will be the scene tonight for another rout. Klopp knows his words cannot temper the fans’ expectations and instead is focusing on getting another three points to take Liverpool a step closer to the knock-out stages.

The Reds are top of Group E and Klopp said: “If anyone is expecting something like 7-0 again, I cannot change that.

“If you expect a big result from the first second and you are already nervous in the first minute, then that would not be too smart.

“But I know our fans will be wanting to see good football and that is what we want to show.

“We had good performances in the first two games but not enough points, so there is no margin for error now. We have to be 100 per cent serious – I will make sure of that.

“If we win 1-0 I will be completely happy with that because it means we have three more points.”

English clubs are performing well this season in Europe, and Klopp claims this should be expected given their vast wealth.

“There is a lot of money in English football and a lot of good players,” he said. “I think it’s really important we show this quality in the Champions League.

“How long it will be like this I have no idea.”