Jürgen Klopp found positive and negatives in Liverpool's scoreless draw with Chelsea at Anfield. He was pleased with the start to the second half as well as the club keeping a clean sheet. He also admitted that the Reds need longer stretches of good play to be able to climb the standings.
A match report is also available.
There were plenty of positives to take away from the match and Klopp was quick to point that out
“I liked the start in the first half, I liked particularly the start in the second half,” Klopp said. “We were compact, we won really good balls, we caused them problems and from there then we have to do better with the ball. That's possible and it was already better than the last league game, that we really keep the balls and play from there.”
“(It was) massive, massive (that Liverpool kept a clean sheet),” Klopp continued. So, directly after the game you cannot forget the chances they had, where we defended in the last seconds with a block. But tomorrow I don't remember them anymore, it's just a clean sheet and it feels really good.”
It's undeniable that Liverpool struggled at points during the game, particularly in holding possession and stringing together longer spells of good play.
“Even Thiago, who is obviously a great footballer, gave balls away, unforced errors and these kind of things”, Klopp said. “That's what we have to do better. If we do that, if we defend well and then play in these moments more, use each other more then all of a sudden it looks completely different. That is where we have to get to.”
With the result, Liverpool did inch up in the standings to 8th place. Klopp is pleased with the “small steps” Liverpool are taking but also acknowledges there is a wide gap to close.
“The distance (in the table) we only can influence by winning – and we didn't do that today. They cannot all lose now, some of them will win, some of them will draw. There are a lot of games to play, there are still a lot of games to play, and if you count all the points then you see a lot of things are possible. But to get there we have to continue with the things again we did now for the last two games. I saw progress, that's good and that's what we have to keep doing.”
Playing to a draw is always a mixed bag for fans and coaches. There are some things you like and some things you don't. At first glance, it seems as if Klopp tried to put more of a positive spin on the result, pointing out Liverpool's improved play over the last two matches and the clean sheet.
He was less than pleased with Liverpool's lack of possession and giving the ball away with bad passing. Liverpool have a week off before facing Brighton in the FA Cup to see if they can address those issues on the training ground, Things are improving slightly and Klopp's stated that he wants to see progress every day.
The question is, are there enough days left for Liverpool to get where they want to be by the season's end?
