Jurgen Klopp says he told two Liverpool players to stop defending vs Chelsea yesterday

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Liverpool’s triumph over Chelsea last night was a hard fought victory. The Reds gave it their all really pushing themselves to the limit. Even against all the odds, when Jurgen Klopp was forced to bring on his academy players they still dominated the game.

There were times when Chelsea looked like they could have gotten a winner, but on the whole this was a magnificent performance by Liverpool. A performance where every player tested the limits of their ability. Where every player gave it their very best shot.

There was plenty to digest after the full time whistle. So many Liverpool players deserve attention and praise. From the youngsters, who were incredible. One of them was even unlucky not to score. To the slightly more experienced players on Liverpool’s fringes, who also stepped up. Then there were the experienced players, who put an arm around the shoulders of the youngsters and guided them along the way.

Klopp and his coaching staff were brilliant in dictating and delegating what had to be done from the side of the pitch as well.

Jurgen Klopp on telling two Liverpool players not to defend

Speaking in his press conference, Jurgen Klopp revealed that as part of his tactical set-up, he had to tell two Liverpool players to stay back and defend.

“We asked Harvey [Elliott] to stay, we asked Lucho [Luis Diaz] to stay up front, don’t go back anymore,” Klopp explained as per the club’s official website.

It was obvious why Liverpool did that. Klopp needed threat going forward, and both Elliott and Diaz had run ragged towards the end of the game. Elliott covered so much ground he made the second most recoveries for Liverpool. Meanwhile, Diaz just kept bombing up and down the left flank, causing Chelsea a lot of problems in the process.

By making sure they stayed up the pitch, Klopp was able to preserve their energy and get as much out of them as possible during the whole length of the 120 minutes that they spent on the pitch. Although, having played so much, we are not expecting either to start against Southampton midweek.