Jurgen Klopp: It would be crazy if the Liverpool fans were not excited, but let's not get carried away
Jurgen Klopp has told Liverpool fans not to get carried away after his team opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 5-1 demolition of Arsenal at Anfield ahead of the club’s meeting with champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
Klopp joked that Liverpool’s fans should enjoy New Year’s Eve but be ready for another major test against City who can cut the lead to seven points if they beat Southampton on Sunday. There was a hat-trick from Roberto Firmino and goals from Sadio Mane and a penalty from Mohamed Salah, the second of two that Liverpool scored from after they fell behind to Ashley Maitland-Niles’ opener.
Klopp said: “I’m not famous for not a being positive person. From time to time I try to enjoy life. That’s really important. If we qualify for a third time for a Champions League spot that would be brilliant and there’s already a distance. But do I think it’s already done? I’m sorry, I do not. I know you think about the next step. It would be crazy if the fans were not [excited]. Hopefully they will be loud in Liverpool but not too loud because my dog does not like it. But a bit louder. And enjoy it and be ready again for Jan 3.”
He joked that the expectation was a creation of the media, and that his players had not shown a flicker of emotion when second-place Tottenham Hotspur were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers. “By tomorrow it [Liverpool’s lead] could be seven,” he said. “Then we play Man City and it could be four. I’m not the smartest person in the world but I’m really not an idiot. It’s really not important how many points you are ahead in December.
“If we drop three points, you are the first to say ‘They are nervous.’ It’s an easy job. I would love to be in your situation [journalists], still earning the money I earn. We cannot play that game. And we don’t do it. Really. Before the game we heard about the result [at Wembley]. Do you think the party started already? I hardly saw a smile in the dressing room. We came were with 54 points completed being focused on the situation.”
Unai Emery said the difference between the two teams was not as great as the scoreline suggested. “Defensively we know we need to do better,” he said. “But that is everybody, not just defenders. We need to be stronger, work at defensive moments in the box. Everybody. We need to keep the ball in the middle and be serious and strong.”
On Mesut Ozil’s absence, he said the German playmaker had a knee injury. Emery said: “I don’t know if it’s big [injury] or not big.”
