Jürgen Klopp said Liverpool delivered “a good example of how football should look” as they dismantled Watford with their biggest victory of the season to send a title warning to Manchester City.
Liverpool maintained their advantage over the reigning champions courtesy of an emphatic performance at Anfield, where Sadio Mané and Virgil van Dijk both scored twice and Divock Origi was also on the scoresheet. Trent Alexander-Arnold, omitted from Sunday’s goalless draw with Manchester United for fitness reasons, returned to the starting lineup with a hat-trick of assists. City remain a point behind having beaten West Ham 1-0 through a controversial Sergio Agüero penalty.
“It was exactly the game we wanted,” said Klopp. “In a game when you win 5-0 and everybody performs on a really high level, and still you have to say both your centre-halves had an outstanding defensive game, the goalkeeper had to make two outstanding saves, then you see the quality of the opponent. All the rest in the game was exceptional.
“The crosses were the most obvious thing because they were really brilliant [but also] the positioning in the box, heading, the runs, the direction, the desire, the composure. I’m really happy for the boys because they deserve it so much. We draw against Bayern and United and everybody talks about things I don’t understand.
“We want to play like this every day. That is sometimes possible, sometimes not, but you have to be stable and the boys were always stable and really fluent offensively. It is a good example of how football should look. Let’s try to do it again and again.”
The two-way gallop to the line
Liverpool
3 Mar Everton (a)
10 Mar Burnley (h)
17 Mar Fulham (a)
31 Mar Tottenham (h)
6 Apr Southampton (a)
13 Apr Chelsea (h)
20 Apr Cardiff (a)
27 Apr Huddersfield (h)
4 May Newcastle (a)
12 May Wolves (h)
Manchester City
2 Mar Bournemouth (a)
9 Mar Watford (h)
16 Mar Man Utd (a)
30 Mar Fulham (a)
6 Apr Cardiff (h)
13 Apr Crystal Palace (a)
20 Apr Tottenham (h)
27 Apr Burnley (a)
4 May Leicester (h)
12 May Brighton (a)
The Liverpool manager admitted he missed Mané’s audacious second goal as a player moved into his eye-line. “It was a back-heel, I heard, but I didn’t see it,” he said. “I loved the first one as well, jumping that high. How he played in that new position was exceptional. You need in that position someone who can play in small spaces, who can give you runs in behind, who adapts to defensive situation. We have other players who can play that but not with the speed of Sadio.”
