Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk
Liverpool may be having an outstanding season but manager Jurgen Klopp insists there is “no party” in his mind.
Jurgen Klopp said “There is no 10 per cent party in my mind, no 15 per cent, no eight per cent, there is just no party. After the game (Thursday’s 2-1 win at Wolves) we had these little meetings where I tell the boys what I think and, to be honest, I had to remind myself to say, ‘congratulations, the result was outstanding’. We have no time to make assessments, we analyze our next opponent and then we go in. It is not that we forget what we have to do better. We are all happy with each other, obviously; in a good place, that is clear, and we were in a good place last year and the year before when we didn’t win anything. We just like working together, working together on improvement and there is still a lot to improve. That is our life. Anyone in the past who looked like they would win something and then stopped never got rewarded in history. I don’t think about (it) but I think if I look back, it makes sense after the last game, whichever that game will be as we are still in two cup competitions.”
The Reds are 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand, needing nine more victories to guarantee a first title in 30 years, having dropped just two points so far. They are also in the last 16 as they look to defend their Champions League crown and have a fourth-round FA Cup tie at Sky Bet League One club Shrewsbury to look forward to on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold to Virgil van Dijk assist and partnership is Liverpool’s most prolific in the Premier League this season. It’s even the league’s joint-fifth best scorer. On the face of it, it’s not that surprising. After all, Alexander-Arnold takes the corners and Van Dijk is the biggest threat in the team.
Van Dijk is the only defender in the scoring column of the top 20. It’s otherwise dominated by forwards, as you’d expect. Kevin De Bruyne to Sergio Aguero is first with six assists to goals – no surprises there. Then you’ve got Adama Traore to Raul Jiminez with five. Next is Daniel James to Marcus Rashford, and Emiliano Buendia to Teemu Pukki, both with four combinations. Then comes Alexander-Arnold to Van Dijk with three, an amount shared with ten other combinations. And it’s certainly the only one to feature two defenders.
It’s surprising because Liverpool have two players in the Premier League’s top 10 scorers. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have scored 11 goals each, supplying another 11 between them, and yet don’t have any prolific combination. But maybe that’s to Liverpool’s credit. They don’t rely on a single way of scoring and that’s why they’ve managed to break down and beat every team in the league this season. So while it’s strange that their only appearance on the list is from corners, it’s also a testament to their fantastic versatility.
Liverpool fans are split over Jurgen Klopp’s big FA Cup decision to field youngsters against Shreswbury Town at Anfield in FA Cup replay. Jurgen Klopp has revealed he will not manage the side or use his senior squad during their FA Cup fifth-round replay with Shrewsbury Town – and Liverpool fans have been giving their reaction.
Jurgen Klopp said “We intend to honour the original idea of the break. We have respect for the players welfare and they need this time off. We got a letter from the authorities in April last year asking us not to organise anything during the week of the break and we haven’t.“We have given the players the time off, and some are going away. They will still be keeping fit, but they do not have to play football that week and they do not have to come in to Melwood.”
It will be a repeat of the League Cup fixture at Aston Villa a month ago, with Critchley again in charge of a side of youngsters when Shrewsbury rock up at Anfield for the replay. Klopp believes his side should have managed the game better.
