Jurgen Klopp has shared what he told his players at half-time during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last night.
Liverpool went into the break 1-0 down. And in quotes from liverpoolfc.com, Klopp said that he used his half-time team talk at Anfield to remind his players that they’d started the game excellently.
“At half-time, positive, I told the boys we should go back to the way we started the game, that would be ideal; we need offers, we need the speed, we need the direction, these were the moments where Palace struggled, we caused them problems,” said the Liverpool manager.
“We need to pick up as well second balls in these moments and go from there. I thought the start was positive again and then the red card happened. But obviously the best possible reaction from Lucho [Diaz] then – worldie, wonderful goal. And from that moment on it was a special game. That was us at home with an incredible atmosphere. Unfortunately, without a goal, which is not easy.”
Liverpool showing good signs, but need a win
Some may be losing their heads at Liverpool failing to win either of their opening two Premier League games. Thankfully, Klopp is reacting with a much more level-headed response.
Liverpool were good for large parts of the game, especially in the opening quarter. Unfortunately that spell of dominance didn’t breed a goal, though.
But it was much better than what we saw against Fulham the previous week. Liverpool were lively, even with several first-choice players missing.
Once Palace scored, The Reds started to lose their way a little. Whether it was pressure from the crowd, or the visitors sitting deeper, Liverpool couldn’t regain their fluency.
As Klopp says, they did get this back for a period at the start of the second-half. Darwin Nunez’s sending off could have put a spanner in the works, but Liverpool were actually even more intense once the Uruguayan left them a man short.
All of this reasonably good work couldn’t bring a goal, though. As a result, Liverpool are left without a win in their opening two games for the first time in 10 years.
That doesn’t bode well at all. But there’s a long, long way to go. His team’s improvement from the previous week will have encouraged Klopp. They just need to start putting the ball in the net from the chances they create and they’ll be fine.
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