LONDON • Liverpool are inching towards a first league title in 29 years, but Jurgen Klopp has called on his team to bask in the journey with their supporters and not be consumed by the "Holy Grail" of lifting the Premier League crown.
The Reds' 2-0 victory at relegation-threatened Cardiff on Sunday restored their two-point lead over champions Manchester City (86 points), who will play their game in hand against cross-town rivals Manchester United tomorrow.
While Pep Guardiola's men will return to the top of the table should they win at Old Trafford, it has still been a season to cherish for Klopp and his players, with just three league matches left.
He said: "If you are only motivated to win the (league title), then something is wrong with you. We want to win football games because we enjoy the ride with the fans.
"In the end, we will see how many points we have and then we get what we get."
Georginio Wijnaldum's second-half opener - a cleverly worked corner routine which resulted in Trent Alexander-Arnold's cutback - and James Milner's late penalty secured a ninth consecutive win in all competitions for Klopp's men, a result he called "really massive".
The German said: "We spoke a lot about this game, how special it is, how special the situation is for the opponent. It was not a game for playing around. It was a battle of will, who wants it more."
Â
BONE HARD
Dry pitches are dangerous for the players injury-wise... the ball doesn't roll that quick and it's difficult for the fluency of the game.
JURGEN KLOPP, Liverpool manager, is not happy with the pitch at Cardiff.
He also revealed that Wijnaldum's strike was from "not from the training ground, but from the dressing room at half-time when the boys decided to do that".
He said: "We put a lot of emphasis on set pieces. We know Cardiff are outstandingly strong on offensive set pieces but, from time to time, they have problems with defensive set pieces. Some of the boys obviously found that out.
"A brilliant goal, I loved it."
He blasted the playing surface, which was not watered despite the baking temperatures and was "bone hard".
He said: "The ball didn't roll like normal. Everybody saw it. Dry pitches are dangerous for the players injury-wise and you know why people leave the pitch dry.
"The ball doesn't roll that quick and it's difficult for the fluency of the game."
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock denied he had ordered his groundsmen not to water the pitch and did some finger pointing of his own - at Mohamed Salah, who won Milner's spot kick. He accused the forward of going down too easily and that he could not have "got much higher off the diving board".
Klopp insisted it was a penalty because Cardiff captain Sean Morrison "used the hand four or five times".
He started the mind games ahead of City's tricky trip to United, who were routed 4-0 at Everton on Sunday, saying he is not counting his chickens yet.
"Even if United get a point or something, we still have to play games after that. We just have to stay focused on our things," said Klopp, whose team host Huddersfield on Friday.
"Some people up in Liverpool might ask us if we're thinking about Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals (on May 1).
"We'll be completely focused on Huddersfield."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
ROME (AFP) - Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic hailed his team for pulling off a "miracle" to secure their top flight survival with a 3-3 draw at Lazio on Monday (May 20) enough to keep the northerners in Serie A next season.
Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio
LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Premier League leaders Manchester City recovered from two goals down to beat Championship side Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday to progress to the
Football: Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup
Man City's Sterling treated differently by British media, says Pogba. Sports when asked whether the media treated Sterling differently because of the colour of his skin. say racism in
Man City's Sterling treated differently by British media
Football: Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal. Rice (centre) and Pedro Obiang (right) embrace as West Ham players celebrate after the match. Defeat dented Arsenal's bid to break
Watch: Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal
BERLIN (REUTERS) - Premier League's Watford were made to sweat to beat lowly Championship club Queens Park Rangers 1-0 on Friday (Feb 15) and book their spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight - Reuters
Football: Hougang find inspiration in skipper Zulfahmi Arifin to climb to second in the SPL. Hougang United skipper Zulfahmi Arifin (centre) blocks Geylang International's Amy Recha during their
Football: Hougang find inspiration in skipper Zulfahmi Arifin
Man City surge clear through Sterling as Spurs suffer (Reuters) - Raheem Sterling's hat-trick in Manchester City's 3-1 win over Watford lifted the champions four points clear at the top of
Manchester City surge clear through Sterling as Spurs suffer
Solskjaer scored the winning goal for Manchester United in the 1999 Champions League final. This move may yet be the greatest masterstroke of all by Woodward and his fellow powerbrokers at Old
Ole Gunnar Solskjær - Wikipedia
PSG star Edinson Cavani doubtful for Manchester United clash February 10, 2019 by Football Paradise Staff Reporter 0 Edinson Cavani could miss Paris St Germain's Champions League clash with Manchester United due to a hip injury.
PSG star Edinson Cavani doubtful for Manchester United clash
Football News -SINGAPORE - Dear Yoshida-san, welcome to Singapore.. restore the Lions' semangat, boleh? Tatsuma Yoshida was unveiled as Singapore's new national football coach on May 30, 2019
Football: Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh
sportstoft.com/soccer/football-yoshida-san-restore-the-lions-semangat-boleh/
Agreeing to the initial two-year contract means you are essentially saying boleh, that you can deal with all these constraints and challenges and try and establish for the Lions a football identity that has been missing for years.
Football: Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh?
Spurs fans have unfortunately become accustomed to the side lacking the drive, desire and mental toughness to see jobs out in the past, but the fact that we shrugged off going a goal behind on Saturday to continue to dominate the game and eventually win it is a testament in itself.
20 Genius Ways to Suppress Hunger Without Food - Focus Fitness
Football: Young Lions beaten, but not discouraged, after SPL loss to Home United Young Lions' Joshua Pereira (right) reacts after scoring a goal against Home United in the Singapore Premier
Kaya v Lao Toyota - spreaker.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment