Jürgen Klopp met with the media a full 48 hours before his club's Sunday showdown with Brighton in the 4th Round of the FA Cup. The Reds and the Seagulls met on January 14th for an EPL fixture and were humbled by a 3-0 loss. Klopp discussed that match, the importance of midfield play in the upcoming fixture and the signing of Stefan Bajcetic to a long-term deal.
Liverpool were outplayed in every facet of the fixture the first time the two clubs met so it was easy for the boss to identify what needed to change this time around.
“Everything,” Klopp said. “That's the plan obviously. We knew before the Wolves game, it was Brighton [in the next round] and we showed we really wanted to go through. That's football. There is always a new chance, and you can always do better. That's what we will do.
But Brighton is a really good moment, so it's all about that [performing better]. The last game against Brighton is still the worst game I have ever seen. Pretty much everything went wrong. We had to change the approach completely, not only against Brighton but in general.”
Stefan Bajcetic recently signed a long-term contract that will keep him with the club until 2027. Klopp took the time to praise the growth development of the young midfielder.
“That [his quality] was pretty clear from the first moment, but you never know how quickly it goes [his progress],” Klopp said. “We were pretty careful with him, because of his age. He showed how he is ready and for us, it is very helpful, with all of his natural skills.
It's something we didn't show often enough in the recent games; aggression, but good aggression, it's not that he kicks players. He is a good footballer on top of that, so that's obviously very important in the centre of the park. I am really pleased he signed his new contract. He deserves it and I think he is really happy about it.”
While midfield play is important in every match, Klopp placed extra importance on it vs. Brighton.
“Against Brighton especially it's massively important how you defend the first line,” Klopp said. So, they are that good. [Moises] Caicedo and [Alexis] Mac Allister and then the two centre-halves [are] calm... the goalie – really calm. So, they just pass the ball through.
If the front three is not defending well, and that was our problem… If you defend Brighton with seven... theoretically, if you defend Brighton with seven players, no chance. That's the situation. It's not about the midfield, they are good there, that's why we have to be good there. Yes, that's one part, it's really about how we defend in general.”
Klopp was very honest when he said that the last match vs. Brighton was the worst game has ever seen and he has seen a lot of football. It stands to reason that the Reds will play better, but will it be enough to get a win and continue the quest to defend their FA Cup Title? Time will tell.
