Jurgen Klopp Demands 'Right Reaction' From Liverpool Ahead of Premier League Clash With Fulham
Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Liverpool must bounce back from Tuesday's defeat to Red Star, and is hoping for positive reaction from his players when they face Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Despite sitting just two points behind leaders Manchester City, many have claimed that Liverpool have been disappointing in comparison to their form from last season, when Liverpool reached the Champions League final. They slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Red Star, and now face an incredibly tough battle to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
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Klopp was focused on recovering from the defeat, saying: “Tuesday wasn’t the same game as the Saturday (against Arsenal), we all struggled. I don’t make a big fuss about it, just like I don’t celebrate a good performance for five days.
“It’s all about a reaction from Tuesday, but [Sunday] is a different competition.
“Nobody expected a result and a performance like that but things like this can happen. In general the shape of the team is good and we’ve played a lot of really good games.”
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He added that he has been impressed with most of Liverpool's performances this season, but also acknowledged that they need to improve.
He said: “We can do better, that’s always the case.
"There’s only been two games, now Red Star and Napoli (where we haven’t been). But our football so far (this season) has been pretty successful.”
On Liverpool's upcoming opponents, Klopp admitted that Fulham have the potential to be a dangerous side, and their poor defensive record is not indicative of their performances.
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He said: “I’d be an idiot if I talked about goal difference before this game. Watch Fulham’s games, not just Match of the Day summaries. They caused City problems and are a really skilled team.
“If somebody expects an easy game [against Fulham] then please stay at home. Maybe we want to show a reaction, that makes sense, but the right reaction.”
Klopp then added: “The season so far point-wise is really successful but it doesn’t feel like that - comparison with free-flowing football last season in a few games, and City and Chelsea playing a good season."
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Finally, Klopp insisted that he was not concerned with comparisons to Liverpool's superb form last season.
He said: “It’s not problem people compare [with last season] and ask if Mo Salah was in the same shape as last season. But I didn’t know he had already scored more this season in October than last year.
“At the moment they all score enough to give us 27 points. You ask whether they are the same as last year. For us it is not too important what happened last year but for the people, and because of the squad and the signings, we have to use that and not the other way around.”
