Jürgen Klopp admitted his side was ‘not great’ after seeing Liverpool go back to the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Sheffield United. The Reds boss though reserved special praise for Alexis Mac Allister, who once again proved to be the difference.
The Argentine’s stunning goal put Liverpool back in front against the Blades after Conor Bradley’s own goal had threatened to put a major dent in the hosts’ quests for the title. Darwin Núñez had earlier opened the scoring after blocking Ivo Grbić’s attempted clearance, while Cody Gakpo made sure of the three points late on.
The victory sees the Reds leapfrog Arsenal again after the Gunners had taken the lead following their win over Luton on Wednesday. Liverpool leads Mikel Arteta’s men by two points, while Manchester City sits a point further back.
“We had to dig very deep, but that is normal,” Klopp told BBC Sport. “Our attitude was good, the football was not great in a lot of moments.
“We saw how quick passes can change the game after 60 minutes, [Andy] Robertson down the line, bam bam bam. Then Macca’s goal [Alexis Mac Allister] was the complete game changer, and it’s a wonderful goal for 3-1 as well. The first goal, Darwin does it by himself.
“They [Sheffield United] could have scored after 20 seconds, Caoimhín [Kelleher] makes a great save. Sheffield United played how they wanted for 90 minutes. It is difficult, but we could do better, and we did to get the win.”
On Mac Allister, Klopp added: “He is a really good player, in the first half he was playing six but we knew we could move him slightly higher. Then he scores this kind of goal, the two biggest screamers of the season have come from him. Then the free-kick directly after — absolutely insane, what a player.”
Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Old Trafford, where the Reds will be looking for revenge after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United. They play after Arsenal and Manchester City again, with their rivals facing Brighton and Crystal Palace respectively.
“I am happy we play on Sunday, we cannot change that. I don’t see the problem,” Klopp said. “The game we played tonight was nothing to do with yesterday, and Sunday will be nothing to do with the other results.”
