Jurgen Klopp believes there are no better strikers in the world than Erling Haaland at the moment, but warned his Liverpool side they cannot afford to put all their focus on the Manchester City forward.
Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland has made an astonishing start to life in England, failing to score in just one of the matches he has started domestically or in Europe. The result is 20 goals already for City, with 15 of those coming just nine Premier League appearances.
Liverpool are the latest team tasked with trying to slow the 22-year-old down, as Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Anfield on Sunday afternoon looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
However, while Klopp is fully aware of the threat that Haaland poses, he knows there are also plenty of other players for the visitors who can cause Liverpool huge problems.
“Obviously when you play against somebody at the moment who is the best striker in the world you have to make sure he doesn’t get that many balls,” Klopp said.
“That’s what we will try but obviously against City the problem is if you close Haaland down with too many players you open up gaps for all the other world-class players.
“So that will not make life easier, it’s a challenge, it’s a football problem and we will try to find a solution.”
He added: “When he was very young, you could see the potential, it was insane.
“Physically he sets new standards, the combination of being really physical and technical and sensational awareness, his orientation on the pitch is exceptional, he knows always where the decisive gaps are, barely offside.
“There are other tall, physical, technical strikers - Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], for example - but Erling Haaland combines so many things. It’s rare.”
Defeat at Anfield would leave Liverpool 16 points behind City in the Premier League, with Klopp already admitting that his side cannot consider themselves to be in the title race.
The Reds boss insists his side’s poor form is not a relevant factor going into the match though, so great is the test that faces them.
“When you play City, results left and right [before and after] are not really important because this game requires all your focus, all the things you know about football,” Klopp said.
“I enjoy preparing for the game but it is the biggest challenge you can face in football.
“But it’s a home game, Anfield, us against Man City, they are at the moment the best team in the world but we will give it a try, knowing we can get help from a full Anfield and we will try to use that.”
