Jürgen Klopp had a lengthy press conference with the media ahead of Tuesday's match with Napoli to close group play in the Champions League. In his nearly 40-minute presser, the boss discussed, in-depth, various topics, including his approach to the game, the fight left in the team and whether the squad is looking for revenge after a 4-1 loss to Napoli to open group play.
Liverpool players are professionals and obviously want to win every game they play, but how hard should they push for a victory when their place in the Champions League Round of 16 is already assured?
“It's a pretty quick turnaround since we played against Leeds,” Klopp said. “I'm not fully aware of the situation with the players who played against Leeds and we still have to wait for that exactly. For sure we will not take risks… this is not a game for massive rotation, probably, it's not about that we have to win 4-0 or whatever to go top of the group. We want to win the game, obviously, that's clear. But the result in the moment is not really important. I have to make the line-up later today, maybe tomorrow morning – we will see – and then we go from there.”
Despite recent losses to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, Klopp says his side still have a good attitude and plenty of fight left in them.
“The fighting spirit is not our problem in this moment – that's there,” he said. “This group in that aspect didn't change and will not change. I didn't change. But all of a sudden everybody thinks
you're not trying hard enough, you don't do this hard enough…. I used to say that press conferences are like [a] holiday; I cannot say that anymore because facing your questions when you lose is really tough. But again, that's part of the job and I had another look at my wage slip and that's what I'm paid for – and pretty good as well. It's OK, you can criticise, absolutely right, we have to work.”
One of the things that makes the Champions League so much fun to watch for supporters is, if your team loses in the first matchup with a club, there is always a chance for revenge in the next meeting. Liverpool supporters are no different but don't expect revenge to be Liverpool's prime motivation in the match.
“In a Champions League group stage the most important thing is that you get through it and that you get qualified for the knockout stages, for the last 16, and that's what we did,” Klopp said. “I'm not sure that we have a point to prove. It's a football game, it's worldwide broadcasted, and we have a full Anfield Road. So that means we have to put a proper shift in and that's what we will do.”
The question on everyone's mind seems to be just how hard Liverpool will pursue a victory in this match. I honestly don't think Klopp himself knows at this point. The approach may even change during the match itself, depending on the situation. Yes, the Reds need a win, but not if it proves too costly. As the boss said, they have already done what they needed to do in this part of the Champions League.
It is also clear that answering the media's questions has become more of a chore for Klopp, As he mentioned, they are right to criticize the team's shortcomings and he also admits that it's his job to see that those issues get fixed. He could have blamed injuries or so many other things for the squad's struggles, but he didn't. That's refreshing to hear.
