Toulouse manager Carles Martinez Novell has praised Liverpool after they beat his team 5-1 last night.
The Reds were in fine form, rattling in five goals against the French side to make it three wins from three in the Europa League.
It wasn’t all straightforward against Toulouse, though. Novell is clearly a very good coach and his side’s high-intensity attacking game caused Liverpool some issues.
Nevertheless, speaking via liverpool.com after the game, the 39-year-old magnanimously gave credit to the Reds.
“The team was very excited to play in this amazing stadium but after the game, I don’t have a feeling we lost 5-1 at Anfield,” claimed the coach.
“It’s my first time here, it’s very nice to play here, it’s very positive and incredible but not about that. Of course, Liverpool is an incredible club and an incredible team at maximum level.”
Novell shows he’s one to watch
It isn’t often that we see a so-called weaker side rock up to Anfield and have a proper go like Toulouse did last night.
Of course, you could argue that the eventual scoreline shows exactly why that’s the case. If you go toe-to-toe with Liverpool, you’ll probably lose heavily.
Regardless of that, the final score really did flatter the Reds. On another day Toulouse could quite easily have scored two or three.
Novell deserves great praise for that. And although perhaps some of his more experienced peers would suggest a hint of naivety in his team’s approach to the game, we tip our hat to him.
At just 39, the Spaniard is very much a rookie coach. As a result, it’s really worth keeping an eye on how he develops.
If last night is anything to go by, his team’s are certainly going to be good to watch at the very least.
With their passionate home crowd behind them in two weeks time, Liverpool will have to be more careful than they were last night.
If they leave the door as wide open as they did last night, Novell and his team could punish them.
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