Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has backed Divock Origi to "explode" at his next club if he leaves Anfield.
The Belgian, who has been linked with a summer exit, made a decisive impact from the bench as the Reds beat Everton 2-0 to keep their quadruple dream alive. Origi's link-up play helped create the opener for Andy Robertson, and the former Lille man completed the scoring when he turned in a wayward shot from fellow substitute Luis Diaz.
Klopp had said before the game that he didn't want to see Everton relegated as "The Merseyside Derby should be on the fixture list". However, the result at Anfield left the visitors in the bottom three with just a handful of games remaining.
"We will never miss a player more like him because if he leaves, he will explode wherever he goes," Klopp said of Origi after the game. "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 goals; everything that we did in the second half, without Divock, wouldn't have happened."
The goal was Origi's second in the Premier League this season, and his sixth in all competitions. The other league effort was an important one as well, helping deliver a stoppage-time win against Wolves at Molineux before the turn of the year.
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Klopp took pains to praise his other fringe players in addition to Origi. While the Reds are close to full strength when it comes to available players - with only Roberto Firmino sidelined for the derby - the manager has needed to use his full squad during his time at Anfield.
"The group lives because of the boys that don't always play, they are the strongest players ever; [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, [Harvey] Elliot, [Takumi] Minamino, even Rhys Williams," the former Borussia Dortmund boss said. "They are in great shape, but the way they behave is why we do these kind of things."
There's no respite for Liverpool, who resume their Champions League campaign on Wednesday. Villarreal are the visitors to Anfield in the semi-final, and Unai Emery's men are coming off a 2-0 victory of their own against Valencia.
"There are not a lot of points we can drop, the next one is always waiting around the corner," Klopp continued, with just five league games remaining on top of Champions League and FA Cup commitments. "That is the situation we are in. We have eight games to play, and if it goes well we can fit in a ninth, but you have to win games when you aren't at our best."
