Piece by piece, Klopp has rebuilt Anfield into a formidable fortress
Jurgen Klopp has slowly been putting the pieces into place to restore Anfield into a fortress of English football.
When the German first arrived at Liverpool, opposition teams were finding it too easy to leave with a good result.
In his first few months in charge, Klopp’s men won fewer than half their games in front of their own fans.
But that is certainly not the case now. Stretching back to February 24, Liverpool have conceded just one goal in their last 11 league games at Anfield.
Only Callum Paterson of Cardiff City has found a way through their defences in that time, and even on that occasion, the Reds won 4-1, so the damage was minimal.
And you have to go back more than 18 months, and 27 matches, for the last time they lost a league game on home turf when Crystal Palace were shock winners.
With the rebuilt Main Stand adding spectators and increasing the atmosphere, Anfield is a fearsome venue for opponents.
However, those rock-solid foundations are going to be tested like never before this month.
Today’s Merseyside derby is the start of a run of five demanding fixtures in December, which also includes the visit of Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal in the league, as well as the must-win Champions League game with Napoli.
If Liverpool can emerge from that set of games still in hot pursuit of Manchester City in the league and with a last-16 tie to look forward to in the new year, it will have been an outstanding month.
Everton travel across Stanley Park in good form, having only lost one of their last seven games as they make quiet, steady progress under Marco Silva.
But it is 19 years since they last triumphed at Anfield and Klopp wants his fortress to remain intact.
“The home form should stay like this,” he says. “It should be normal that it is very difficult for other teams to play you in your own stadium.
“Of course, things can happen and there were a lot of steps to go until other teams started to think this is not the nicest place to go.
“A lot of things happened to the stadium, and one of those was to build a new stand with everything new inside, which really helps a lot.
“It’s a nice environment to be in, you feel comfortable. It’s our home and it’s nicer than all the other stadiums in the league. That is really cool.
“Now we are there, but I don’t think a lot of Evertonians are going to think about our home record.
“They will try everything to stop that and we will try everything to continue that.”
While last season, the praise was all for
the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane and their goalscoring exploits, it’s Liverpool’s defending that is taking the plaudits this campaign.
They have shipped only five goals in the Premier League in their best ever start, and never more than one in a single game.
But perhaps no one should be surprised after Klopp shelled out £142 million in the last 12 months to sort out his defence.
Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in world football at £75 million, and it was the same for goalkeeper Alisson when he joined for £67 million.
Those two individuals have already made a big impact in the time they’ve been at Liverpool, and their manager has absolute faith in both of them.
“Virgil has been absolutely everything I expected,” he says. “From the first second, he was brilliant.
“It is easier for a centre-half to come in and play as the adjustment to the rest of the team is not that massive. It is harder for a midfielder.
“But I knew long before he signed the contract that Virgil would be outstanding as a player. It’s the mix of playing and leadership.
“If he has given confidence to other players, then good. That is how it is with quality players.
“Alisson is probably less South American than you thought. He comes from the colder part of Brazil, the opposite to Bobby Firmino. It makes him pretty much European.
“He is very calm and very good. He is everything we thought when we signed him, which is great news.”