Liverpool won their International Champions Cup clash against the La Liga champions thanks to strikes from Sadio Mane – his first since joining the club from Southampton, Divock Origi and Marko Grujic and a Javier Mascherano own goal on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
However, Klopp was keen to stress the resounding victory over the Catalans would count for nothing when the English Premier League season gets underway for his team with a trip to Arsenal next Sunday.
“It was a wonderful lesson for us today because we did really well, but when we become a little bit passive, it is a problem for us. That is normal, not only against Barca, but especially against Barca,” Klopp was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Saturday after the win.
“Wonderful goals, great challenges. We wanted to do high pressure, which I think is important against Barca. But of course you cannot do it the whole time and you have to be compact against Barcelona.”
“We have to learn better that when we stay deep, we must be active and it was a little bit of a problem, but there were also some wonderful moments.”
The Liverpool head coach was also overwhelmed by the huge support his team got from the large proportion of Reds fans among the 89,845 supporters at Wembley.
“I am really happy and emotional about the reaction here in London. But Liverpool came to London today and it was really nice to have all these people here, 90 per cent on our side, which you do not often get in a match.”
As for the match itself, it was not just Liverpool’s high pressing game that pleased Klopp, but also some of their passing, especially in the second half as his side scored three times to complete a resounding victory.
“It was not only the high pressing that pleased me. But after winning balls it was the direction of some of our passes and Kevin Stewart’s for Divock Origi’s goal.”
“We are not at 100 per cent fitness wise, so it is normal too, we had to run a lot, much more than Barca, but we did it and we did it well,” the former Borrusia Dortmund manager added.
–IANS
ac/sam/dg
0 votes
