Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has credited Jurgen Klopp for making a key tactical change that he "didn't expect" against Everton.
Liverpool won Sunday's Merseyside derby 2-0 at Anfield but it was by no means a straight forward victory for the Reds as Everton made it extremely difficult for Klopp's side. Until Andy Robertson found the opening goal with 28 minutes to go, it looked as though the Toffees were going to thwart Liverpool's title challenge.
But Klopp made a double change early in the second half in a bid to freshen things up and it made an instant impact, with the opening goal coming two minutes after the substitutions. Carragher has credited Klopp's decision making despite being surprised at the time.
Klopp had seen enough as the game was goalless after an hour and brought on Divock Origi and Luis Diaz for Naby Keita and Sadio Mane. It was Origi that instantly made a difference, holding up the ball in the box before playing Mohamed Salah who assisted Robertson.
And with just minutes to go, the two substitutes combined to add a second and secure all three points, leaving Carragher full of praise for Klopp. He said on Sky Sports: "Everton played the whole game that there was five minutes to go.
"I didn’t expect that. To make that change with Origi, I think Klopp knew what game this way. Great credit to Klopp, he doesn’t normally go that early."
Everton must be sick of facing Origi as the Belgian now has six goals against the blue half of Merseyside, and Klopp hailed the striker by calling him "world class" and a "legend". "We will never miss a player like him because if he leaves, he will explode wherever he goes," Klopp said.
"He is a world-class striker, he is a legend and will stay a legend forever. He doesn't always make the squad which is ridiculous, but he is there when we need him every time. He was involved in both games; everything that we did in the second half, without Divock, wouldn't have happened."
Klopp continued to credit his stars that may not be given much game time but are ready to be used when he needs them. "The group lives because of the boys that don't always play," Klopp added.
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"They are the strongest players ever; [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, [Harvey] Elliot, [Takumi] Minamino, even Rhys Williams. They are in great shape, but the way they behave is why we do these kind of things."
However, after praising Klopp, Carragher took aim at relegation-threatened Everton and slammed them for "cheating the manager" after causing Liverpool issues away from home. "They’re cheating the manager and the supporters," Carragher said.
"To put in a performance like that. Everton haven’t won an away game since August and they need to look at themselves some of them players. Nothing short of disgraceful. There’s been a lot of money spent on the squad. A club like Everton not to win an away game since August is poor."
