Jürgen Klopp has said it was almost impossible to improve Liverpool’s attack via the transfer market this summer but that collective desire has turned his team into the most potent unit in the Premier League.
Liverpool travel to Chelsea on Friday having scored more Premier League goals in 2016 – 50 – than any other team. Klopp’s side also lead the way this season on chances created (64) and successful passes in the attacking third (628). Only Manchester City have scored more league goals than Liverpool, who have put four past both the champions and the runners-up last season, Leicester City and Arsenal.
The array of attacking options available to Klopp is reflected in his dilemma over accommodating Philippe Coutinho in the starting lineup at Stamford Bridge. Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané flourished in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat of Leicester, when Coutinho was among the substitutes after international exertions with Brazil. Divock Origi and Danny Ings are yet to start a league fixture this season.
Klopp insists Liverpool’s prowess in front of goal stems from the attitude and work-rate of the entire team, not from having the league’s finest strikeforce, and admits buying improvement was not straightforward this summer.
Asked if he possessed the best forward line in the Premier League, the Liverpool manager replied: “No. We have the only attacking options I want. When I thought what I had to do in the transfer window, I always heard about: ‘We have to sign this striker or this kind of striker.’ It’s really difficult out there to find better strikers who are available. Available is not always possible. It’s really difficult to find available strikers who are better than ours. But it’s not about having the best, it’s about doing the best. I am happy with the squad.
“We will speak a lot about this. When we have won the last game everybody agrees with me and if we haven’t won the last game everybody thinks: ‘What is he talking about?’ That’s part of the deal and I have no problem with it. But I don’t change my mind every week. The last game was good and the game before was good too. Tottenham are a difficult team to play and everybody will see that during the season. They are a good side and we did really well there. We are in a good way but we have to collect points in this way and we have to deliver every week. We have to show we can build on good moments and handle bad moments. There is a still a job to do.”
One addition Klopp did make to Liverpool’s attack was Mané, for an initial £30m from Southampton, and the Senegal international has impressed with his pace and awareness in possession.
“Sadio gives width and space,” said Klopp. “I would say we gave a masterclass in games without the space created by Sadio. We don’t have slow players but he is a specific kind, a good footballer and that makes it an enjoyable package. But a few of the best games we played until now were without him. We are happy to have him here but it is not that we now create a specific plan to bring him in. All the players are involved in defending until they are not involved and it is all about protection and being an option. When you don’t protect you need to be an option to get a pass or create some space. That is how we want to use him.
“From the first moment it was pretty much clear that he would be good for us. I was really happy when we signed him and I heard the deal was done. The best thing was he could make the pre-season with us. He had brilliant moments in one of the other easier games, had weaker moments in another, he went through the normal cycle you go through for a pre-season. At the end he made all the sessions and that was the best base for fitting in as quick as possible.”
Liverpool will have Dejan Lovren available at Stamford Bridge after the Croatian defender missed the Leicester match with a badly swollen eye. The summer signing Loris Karius is also fit to challenge Simon Mignolet for the goalkeeper’s position having recovered from a broken hand suffered against Chelsea in pre-season. “Karius is fit,” confirmed Klopp. “He has trained for a week so there are no issues any more, which is good.”
