Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool’s experience in challenging over the closing weeks of the season will prove crucial as he prepares for “seven finals” in the chase for Champions League qualification.
Jurgen Klopp said: “Absolutely important, absolutely. We have kind of seven finals, if you want. We will only know by the end how many points we will need to really make it happen. I’ve said before that we should not waste time or points – we really have to go for it. That’s the situation we are in. The good thing about it is that there are some teams around these spots where they pretty much also have to do that.”
Liverpool are coming into some form, having won their last three Premier League games and lost only once in their last six games in all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp added: “Maybe a few weeks ago we had nine points less obviously and it looked like Leicester were away and West Ham and Chelsea were all away and are still in a good moment and ahead of us. But in the last three games we have put a little bit of pressure on them and we have to keep on doing that. Let’s see.”
Leeds have also earned three successive league wins, the most recent of which saw them triumph 2-1 at runaway leaders Manchester City last Saturday despite playing more than half the game with 10 men. And Klopp has praised Bielsa and Leeds for having “courage” to play in an attacking fashion.
Jurgen Klopp said: “It’s just his nature, that’s how he played all his life with his teams. So I’m not surprised by it. Graham Potter didn’t get promoted with Brighton but since he has come in, that’s a proper attacking style as well. A lot of teams are trying to attack more than maybe they would in the past. Is it refreshing? I don’t know. But it’s good. I really think football should look like this, we all should attack as often as possible. It doesn’t mean you can do it all the time, but you should try as often as possible as that’s the most entertaining part of it. We should not forget that’s a big thing for us to do, to entertain the people out there, to show some courage and all those kind of things. Leeds show courage, obviously, a lot.”
Jurgen Klopp added: “West Brom tried it with Slaven Bilic and it didn’t work out 100%, not enough points. With Sam (Allardyce) there now they are attacking as well, it’s slightly different and differently organised. You can only win games with attacks. But I don’t sit here now and give messages to any players or coaches who get promoted next season on how they can be successful in the Premier League. There’s not only one way to stay in the league, but you have to find the one that works for your team.”
