For all the action that takes place on the pitch when Liverpool play this season, there is an equal amount of energy being spent out in the technical area. Jurgen Klopp lives every second that Liverpool plays on the pitch. The German can be seen encouraging his men, rebuking them when they make a mistake, celebrate a goal in typical fashion or even react to a missed chance or a tough tackle. This infectious energy seems to be getting to everyone, especially the players who turned up against Manchester City and blew them away on Saturday.
Gegenpressing is here!
For the first thirty minutes of the game, City did not know what hurricane had hit them. Playing with Roberto Firmino as the striker or a false nine was a masterstroke by Klopp. The other Brazilian at Liverpool was probably the best player on the pitch and his link up play with Lallana and Coutinho was exceptional.
Certainly a lot of things have changed at the club since the sacking of Brendan Rodgers. Liverpool are once again playing a high tempo game, akin to what Rodgers had achieved with Luis Suarez in his side, but Liverpool are also pressing higher up the pitch which led to their first goal against City.
The ball being played to Bacary Sagna, he was robbed of possession by Philippe Coutinho who played a lovely ball through to Firmino. The former Hoffenheim attacker cut back into the penalty box when Eliaquim Mangala bundled it into his own net.
Apart from the high pressing, it seems that Klopp’s ability to man manage has worked in Liverpool’s favour. Almost every player out there on the pitch seems to be giving 100% and much more for the German. It isn’t just the effort of the players though it is important to point out that Liverpool, as individual players and as a team are running a great deal more and pressing a whole lot more than they ever did under Brendan Rodgers.
Every player seems to be getting better under Klopp, last season when any Liverpool fan heard of a central defensive pairing of Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel, it certainly sent shivers down their spine and the question was how many mistakes the pair would make. Lovren now looks world class, alright it was just one game against City but he did marshal Aguero very well. Skrtel though did commit one mistake which led to the Sergio Aguero goal, but he atoned for that by lashing home Liverpool’s fourth goal.
Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke, Lucas Leiva, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno and James Milner all look much better under Klopp and while they give it all for the manager, you too can see how he celebrates with each player. After the Manchester City win, he individually went up to each player and had a bit of a joke, which was followed by the customary Klopp hug.
With many Liverpool players to come back from injury, these are good times for the club. The positive energy brought out by Klopp is certainly seeping into a team which for most of last season and the start of this season had its soul pulled out. Luis Suarez was the heartbeat of the team then, Jurgen isn’t just the heartbeat for the club, he seems to be the club and that can only get better, hopefully as the season progresses.