IN KLOPP’S LIVERPOOL HOME He once complained of early walkout... now fans stay behind to praise him
JURGEN KLOPP walked up to the Kop with a beaming smile and cupped an ear to the fans as they sang “Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool”.
Moments earlier the crowd had been singing about winning the league when Mo Salah secured their 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Klopp’s walk to the Kop at the end of home games has become a tradition since he helped make Anfield a fortress again.
Towards the end of last season, he would offer them three punches into the air, with each met by a huge roar.
This season he dropped that habit because the TV cameras would home in on him and he felt that was intrusive on what is his moment with the fans.
But there was a time when Klopp felt “alone” at Anfield, when he was still trying to turn doubters into believers.
Liverpool had just lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace in November 2015, not long after he had taken charge.
The German could not believe fans began to walk out moments after Scott Dann put Palace in front in the 82nd minute – and he let them know he was unhappy about it.
There was some unease inside the club at Klopp taking on the supporters, wary that if any of his immediate predecessors had tried that it would have been met with anger from the Kop.
But Klopp felt the fans had a part to play in laying the foundations to build Anfield into a place to be feared again, a stadium where the Reds would never give up. The fans believed in him and that is why they stayed on to applaud the side following a 2-2 draw with West Brom a month later.
Liverpool were mocked for seemingly celebrating a draw with a lesser side as the squad stood hand in hand to bow in front of the Kop.
It felt strange at the time but it was the start of a bond which has helped them turn Anfield into a ground that has given them the platform to become European, world and soon-to-be English champions.
Klopp never feels alone now and they wait way beyond the final whistle for the jovial German to strut across the turf and celebrate another positive result with them.
It is an intimidating ground to visit once again, reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s when the Reds ruled English football.
Not even a Barcelona side including Lionel Messi can come to Anfield with a 3-0 semi-final lead and feel safe, as was proven last year with one of the great Champions League comebacks as the Reds won 4-0 on their way to a sixth European Cup.
But while it has helped them become a force again on the continent, it is in the Premier League where Anfield has really become the place where the Reds no longer lose.
It’s over 1,000 days since former bogey team Palace beat them 2-1 in April 2017 and nobody has managed it since in the Premier League.
Two full seasons have passed since
Reds supporters walked out of Anfield contemplating a defeat.
And the next time they take their seats at the famous ground for the Southampton game on February 1, it will be more than 12 months since they last saw them draw there, in a 1-1 stalemate with Leicester.
Liverpool have hardly been bad on the road either, considering they are 39 games unbeaten in the league, have one defeat in 61 and have won all but one of their away matches so far this season.
But there is no doubting that the formidable home form has been a key element in making them runaway leaders as they hold a 16-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
“We can’t deny that we are in a good (below)
Klopp took charge situation but we don’t get carried away,” said central defender Virgil van Dijk.
Left-back Andy Robertson was also reading from the same script.
“Until the champions sign is above our heads we don’t believe anything,” said the Scotland star.
But, no matter what the players say, it is now when and not if Liverpool secure the title.
They could even win it away to City as early as April 4 if both sides pick up maximum points before then.
Whenever they secure it, they are likely to have the champions sign above their heads and the trophy in their hands after their final home game against Chelsea.
And you can guarantee no Reds fan will be leaving in the 82nd minute that day.