FLIP KLOPP
Jurgernaut to renew title battle
JURGEN KLOPP has vowed to create a team to reignite Liverpool’s title battles with Manchester City next season.
Despite an erratic Premier League campaign, the Anfield giants head to relegation-threatened Leicester tomorrow still in the hunt for a topfour place after six straight wins.
But Klopp insists Liverpool must focus on their own pathway next season – and not become obsessed with closing the current 20-point gap on Pep Guardiola’s stars.
“It’s not just about Manchester City. It’s can we create a team that can win the majority of the games next season? Yes we can. It’s not about what the others do – it never was,” said the Kop boss.
“We’d have been champions but for a point twice in the last five years.
“Getting 90-odd points is absolutely insane, it’s pretty special and no one should take that for granted.
“Next season I think the top five, six or seven will get even closer together.
“It’ll get more difficult and more competitive which it already has done this year.
“It doesn’t make it easier but it gives everyone with a good idea a chance to be part of it and that is all that you go for actually.
“Because if you’re part of that battle then you can win it.
“There are two games a season in the league where you play Man City or Arsenal and all the other guys.
“There are five million ways to win a football game and you only have to find one. But a successful season is that you are ready for all the games that you can win.
“And if you can win 25 games and if City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs, Man United are all involved in that 25 then it’s even better.”
For all their troubles, it’s not been total gloom with Klopp delighted at the progress of £85million striker Darwin Nunez (below) even though he has scored only once in 11 games.
“There’s a lot more to come, that’s clear,” said the Reds boss. “He needed time to settle. The most difficult thing for a striker is to come into a team that’s not clicking.
“So to score 15 goals is absolutely fine – imagine if by our standards we’d had a good season he would have scored 20-odd goals definitely. “With every chance created
if you miss it it’s much more a headline. Mo Salah in his best season of 40-odd goals missed chances. That’s normal.
“Erling Haaland missed chances. That’s how it is but City had much more than we created in this period.
“He needs time to adapt. It was the same at Benfica, although there was less of a language issue. We’ll try to help him and he can help us even more.”
Klopp still believes Liverpool are top-four outsiders but is happy with the late-season surge that tees up next season. He added: “I never question these boys, never.
“Mentality-wise they’re exceptional. All we can do is go with everything and really make the best of what we’ve got so far.”