Juergen Klopp on Sunday said that Liverpool’s unquenchable appetite for success was the driving force behind their 2-1 win at Chelsea that extended their perfect start to the Premier League title race.
Klopp’s side made it six successive league wins to open the season as they survived a second-half Chelsea barrage to move five points clear of Manchester City.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s blistering free-kick and a Roberto Firmino header put Liverpool in control, before N’Golo Kante’s superb second-half strike set up a tense finish.
Photo: Reuters
Liverpool managed the pressure-packed situation with the kind of mature, well-drilled display that is the hallmark of champions and Reds boss Klopp said that he never doubted his players would thrive under the cosh because they are such a committed group.
“I shouldn’t be surprised anymore by the character of our team. We expect it from us that we fight for everything,” Klopp said. “The boys did really well, they fought really hard. It is completely normal that you come under pressure, but we defended well. That is how it is in the top six and in the Premier League. You will never win at Chelsea without putting a proper shift in and we did that today.”
After Manchester City’s astonishing 8-0 demolition of Watford on Saturday, it was the perfect response from Liverpool as they try to dethrone Pep Guardiola’s champions.
Chasing a first English title since 1989-1990, Liverpool are on a club-record run of 15 successive league wins and have lost just once in 45 top-flight matches, going unbeaten in the past 23.
“It is exceptional. What can I say? We have to keep on going ... We have to work for it,” Klopp said.
The only worry for Klopp was an injury to Sadio Mane that forced him off in the second half.
“It is a knock on the bone around the knee and a dead leg,” Klopp said. “He’s OK, but we took him off, he wasn’t limping, but I didn’t like how he was running.”
Chelsea had a greater share of possession, managed 13 shots to Liverpool’s six, but those encouraging signs were undermined by poor defending and a lack of cutting edge, leaving Frank Lampard the first Chelsea manager to remain winless in his first four home matches since Bobby Campbell in 1988.
“No home wins, we want to change that and I believe we will if we play like that,” Lampard said. “Performance wise we were the better team. We had more energy in our game, character and spirit. That’s why the crowd applauded at the end. The difference between us and Liverpool is we aren’t consistent enough. To work towards those levels is hard. It is a daily thing. “That is what we have to aspire to.”
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