Three points off the top, three goals scored in every Premier League home game, a 100% record in all competitions at Anfield, cruising through the Europa League group stage and individuals shining; it is fair to say Liverpool have surpassed the pre-season expectations of a new-look team. It is not unreasonable of Jürgen Klopp, however, to expect much more as the season develops.
“You saw so many teams here growing in the direction we wanted and all became better step by step or the manager had to go,” said Klopp on the demands of his particular job. “We will try together to get better step by step and show our real face more often than not.”
The 243rd edition of the most played derby in English football offers an ideal opportunity for Liverpool to grant Klopp’s request given the one-sided nature of the fixture on his watch, regardless of another early kick-off after an international break playing havoc with preparations. Klopp has lost one of his 17 encounters with Everton, Liverpool one of the past 23 Premier League meetings at Anfield and one of the past 25 league derbies home or away.
Liverpool’s defensive concerns, heightened by the loss of Andy Robertson for up to three months with a shoulder injury, are offset by the visitors’ troubles in front of goal. A 3-0 defeat of Bournemouth last time out was only the eighth time Everton have scored more than once in a Premier League match in the past 12 months. The overall improvement in Everton’s performance, however, coupled with three wins in the past four games, raises Sean Dyche hopes of capitalising on any post-international fatigue in the opposition ranks. Klopp’s compliments towards Dyche and his local rivals were of the back-handed nature.
“Everton are in a good moment,” he said. “Burnley in their best moments [under Dyche] were a super-difficult team to play against and you can see that again; it’s similar with different players. We have to be ready for second ball fights, runs in behind, a compact defence. It will be a tough one. Burnley games were always tough. We have to have football understanding, patience, put a proper shift in and take the fight.”
What Klopp is seeking most of all from Liverpool is consistency throughout the 90-plus minutes of a Premier League game. It was achieved in the commanding 3-0 defeat of an in-form Aston Villa early last month, a performance that carried echoes of Liverpool at their dominant best under Klopp, but other highlights, even in victory, have been interspersed with lapses. The manager believes some instability is inevitable given this summer’s midfield rebuild.
“Yes it is [a factor] but we’ve also changed between games quite a lot because of the amount of games and we’ve been interrupted by international breaks twice now,” he said. “If it is a more settled team it doesn’t make that much of a difference because we are much more used to each other and that is not the case yet. As a group we have to become consistent but you do it step by step.
“It is not too long ago that we had the problem of performing on a really high level until we didn’t perform at all any more; we were 1-0 or 2-0 up in a game and all of a sudden we came under pressure. Crazy. We had to learn to control the game. It is all the things that happen with time – there is no shortcut to that. With the signs we showed so far I am absolutely fine but I don’t know the final destination, I can’t even see that yet, but it is not a problem because other teams have similar problems. It is about how quick we can make the steps and that is what we are working on every day but the problem now is how could we work since Brighton [where Liverpool drew 2-2]? We had three, with a goalie, first-team players in training until Wednesday. Tomorrow we have to play with what we did so far but in general you have to gain stability bit by bit.”
It has arrived in attack, where Darwin Núñez’s influence has improved considerably since his match-winning cameo for the 10 men of Liverpool at Newcastle. Mohamed Salah has scored or assisted in 14 consecutive Premier League matches and Liverpool could emulate their predecessors from 1980-81 by scoring three or more goals in the opening four home league games. Stopping goals has been the problem, with Liverpool conceding first and cheaply on occasions. Klopp insists he has not built another formidable attack at the expense of a resilient defence; it is just another step Liverpool have to make.
“I like to build a team from the defensive side,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s possible again nowadays when you’re in the middle of something. Imagine if we kept clean sheets but didn’t create. You have time for these things when you are new [to a club], when things are under average before you come in and you are 14th. Then everyone is happy when you get some results. We are not like that. Our team is not set up like that. We have a really talented group, a creative group in a football sense, and we have to use that. But we have to organise protection. That goes step by step.
“There are a lot of new things for the boys to consider and that takes time. We had a good pre-season and I loved the steps we made there but the rest we have learned during the season. During the season you are massively influenced by results. The difference when we win a game – and it’s not a problem for me – is I have to make players aware of things that are not right yet. It is a different feeling if you lose or draw a game. It’s been two weeks since we played a football game together so it’s not possible to work by looking at the Brighton game any more. We have to make sure we are ready for this one.”
After the trials at Tottenham and the frustration at Brighton, Klopp needs Liverpool to embrace the intensity of the Merseyside derby when they arrive home.
