Klopp’s reaction to Liverpool’s tense 2-1 win over Brighton

Jurgen Klopp was a relieved man after Liverpool held on to complete a 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield on Saturday.

Klopp said he was happy with the desire shown by his team who were reduced to ten men when keeper Alisson handled outside of the area late in the second half. A Virgil van Dijk brace had given Liverpool what had seemed a comfortable lead but to add insult to injury Lewis Dunk snuck the free kick in before replacement keeper Adrian could organize his wall.

Klopp happy with the desire

The manager felt his side could have finished off the game in the first hour and said there was work to do ahead of the midweek clash against Everton. 

“In a lot of moments [it went well], always knowing about the very specific quality of Brighton; they don’t care too much about the opponent they play,” Klopp said after the match.

“They were bringing a lot of players between the lines, which is good, but when it happens like it happens with us and we can win the ball in these moments, there was some chances for us as well. We scored two nice goals after set-pieces, really wonderful goals, but the biggest chances we had were from open play. 

“That was really, really good how we played there – we could have, should have finished it off in that period but we didn’t and you have the most tricky result. 

“If you think about a lead in the game, then 1-0 and everybody is clear, completely focused, everything is clear, 3-0, it is not decided but at least a little bolster, but 2-0 is like it is. We had to carry on working hard and at one point, at the end of the half, they had more moments where they could pass the ball between our lines. They had three in the box at one point I think where they didn’t finish it off, but I am not sure if it was offside or not. 

“Second half it was hard work again and the boys put in another incredible shift in the game.”

Klopp said that the red card completely changed the game and Liverpool weren’t able to do much going forward after going down a man. Klopp admitted Adrian was caught cold, literally.

“Of course, life became more complicated with the red card and the change we had to make. 

“We had to bring on a frozen goalkeeper pretty much! Everybody sitting here is probably not really warm yet, but imagine you go there in shorts, a really thin shirt and some gloves which are not made for keeping you warm,” Klopp added

“Some people let the free-kick happen like that and then you look a little bit silly in that moment, but that’s what you have to accept. We kept on fighting and Adrian especially helped us a lot with two really, really good saves and crosses he caught and stuff like this. 

“With his cold feet, he couldn’t shoot the ball as far as he wanted! In the end, it kept it a bit interesting but it’s only important that we won the game and that’s what we did, so I am really pleased about that. I am very, very happy about the effort the boys put in again, I’m really happy and proud about the desire the boys showed. The red card made it a really special win, to be honest,” Klopp said shortly after the match.