In the fourth round of the FA Cup, Liverpool defeated Norwich 5-2 at home. This was the first Liverpool game after Klopp announced his departure at the end of the season. Red Army fans continued to sing "Klopp's Song" during the game. , to pay tribute to this meritorious coach. After the game, Klopp said slightly jokingly at the press conference: "I said not to sing my songs during the game, but obviously no one listened to me."
Talking about the game
In general, everyone All the players who played performed very well, really well. I like this game, it's a difficult game, you face a team that mainly plays on the counterattack, which is absolutely fine, with a 4-5-1 formation, so we have to adapt in all aspects. We could have told the kids at halftime to pass the ball with more purpose, be more directional, be faster, but it was difficult. I saw we tried one or two good diagonal passes, but they didn't work with the wind, and then we stopped trying, which didn't mean much. Regardless, we scored two great goals, the goal we conceded was a set piece and they executed it well, and we certainly could have done better in that situation.
Then it was clear in the second half, when we were dominant, if you stay dominant and improve in certain areas, you create more chances. Jota's goal was the third, right? It's a nice volley and that's the direction you need it to go. I would say that was a tough ball for the defense to defend, and then we were able to score from there. Then another scary goal from Norwich and we ended the game and everything was fine. We brought some young players out and gave them some game time, which really helped, and they were involved in four of the five goals, which was great. So, really, there's nothing to complain about.
on fans' tributes
It's emotional but my job is... well it's not always easy but I have to pick myself up and I get messages from everyone and I'm not stupid, So I understand all of that. I said a while ago, 'Don't sing that song at the game' and apparently people don't listen to me anymore, and that's fine! But it doesn’t matter, we won the game, we scored, so the reason for superstition doesn’t exist in this case, it’s great, it’s the first game after that (announcement of departure at the end of the season) , I’m not here to tell you what to do. It's just that we have a game on Wednesday and it would be great if we could ignore for 95 or 100 minutes the fact that the manager is leaving at the end of the season and do everything we can to make Chelsea uncomfortable. I know everyone knows this too, so I don't actually have to say it. But overall it was a wonderful afternoon.
On McConnell's first start and the talent emerging from the academy
Yes, there are some (rookie players) you may not recognize yet. So, maybe you know them, but they haven't played for the team yet, and there's a lot to come. Bobby Clark didn't play today, and I think he's been really good the last few games. Njoni and Jayden Dance especially from the under-18 level, Louis Koumas... there are a lot of really good players coming up, so yes, from a production perspective, the youth system is currently It’s a really good moment, it’s great.
McConnell may think of himself as a No. 8, but that's probably what a midfielder would think if you don't always play as a No. 6. But he is a smart player, he has the necessary aggression, vision and all the qualities to play in the 6 position, and he performed very well today, and on top of that, he is a great player, not only in The moment when he crossed to Curtis Jones, and there are many moments that can be reflected, it was really good.
Bradley too, very good, Qua Ansah, we probably won't be looking at him as an academy player any time soon, he is, fantastic, but I would say he is already in the first team now Got a firm footing.Sure, he's still young and he can still continue to improve, but he's an important member of the roster, like all of them. We wouldn't be where we are without these kids and that's why it's so cool to have them, it's not that I give them a chance but it's because they knock on the door and I actually can't ignore them, This is what they do.
It is very important for Arnold, Robertson and Szoboszlai to return from injury.
It will allow them to get playing time. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai's absence isn't too long, but I think they might feel it's a bit long either way. And Robertson did miss a long period of time. Every minute of game time they get now is important and a little intensity again today helped. Nunez, we didn't replace him because of his poor performance or any other reason. Of course not, it's just that we have played a lot of games and we have to continue to play. The same applies to Joe Gomez.
Everything is fine, we were able to distribute the game time, which is the most important thing, and we were able to win the game, that's how it is now. In four weeks we have the next FA Cup game and before that we have the Premier League and a final (League Cup), so let's get ready. It's good to have the players back but to be honest we've done quite well without them so it's not about who plays but how we play and we have to make sure we're the team Chelsea and Arsenal don't want The teams faced. So, let's see what we can do with the players we have.
