Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp paid a significant compliment to Roberto De Zerbi prior to his side’s 2-1 victory over Brighton on Sunday. The Reds were forced to dig deep to secure all three points at Anfield, and the nature of the display highlighted the management of their opponents.
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Klopp is hoping that his time with Liverpool can end on an immense high, having announced in January that he will leave the club at the end of the season as he is ‘running out of energy’ in the position.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund boss guided his side to victory in the Carabao Cup, and the Reds remain hopeful of winning the Europa League and the Premier League. Liverpool went top of the table on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Brighton, with Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah scoring after Danny Welbeck’s opener.
The Seagulls defended resiliently throughout the contest and posed a threat on the counter-attack, with their overall performance being marked up given that they were without seven important players for the trip to Merseyside.
De Zerbi has been linked with succeeding Klopp at the end of the season, and he may have passed his audition at Anfield with his side’s display. And the Italian received plenty of praise from his potential predecessor ahead of kick-off, comparing Brighton to Manchester City.
Klopp said: “The way they play [makes them a difficult opponent]. Possession-based team, makes sense for them, they struggle defensively from time to time but when you have the ball like they have, the formation like they have, if they lose the ball there are opportunities for us.
“We had not enough possession against them in the other games - that is actually the best way to deal with them - so that is something we told the boys, it would be cool if we could have the ball more than them. Defending them is a bit like defending City - really calm on the ball. I like preparing for these games.”
Klopp was pleased with how his side responded to going behind, and the German will certainly be equally ecstatic to learn that Manchester City and Arsenal played out a stalemate at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, meaning that Liverpool head into the final nine games of the campaign as league leaders.
