Liverpool may have missed the chance to go clear at the top of the Premier League with victory at Manchester United but Jurgen Klopp is remaining calm.
Jurgen Klopp has highlighted the “dumbest thing” Liverpool could now do after suffering a Premier League title setback.
But the Reds boss admits his team cannot afford many more repeats of the performance that allowed Manchester United off the hook at Old Trafford.
Mohamed Salah’s 84th-minute penalty earned the visitors a 2-2 draw on Sunday after Luis Diaz’s first-half strike was wiped out by Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.
Liverpoolare now level on points with new leaders Arsenal with champions Manchester City a point adrift. And when asked about the importance of being top at this stage of the season, Klopp warned against the Reds chasing down their inferior goal difference to the Gunners.
“(Being top) matters after 38 matchday days, a lot,” said the Liverpool boss. “People and our supporters as well will tell us now we need to better our goal difference and go for that, but that would be the dumbest thing we could do. That doesn’t happen on purpose, you don’t go into a game wanting to score eight goals and it happens.
“We are who we are and we are how we are and that’s why we are in the race. I’m absolutely fine with that.
“I knew it would be super tricky until the end. We were until yesterday whichever time we were top, now it’s Arsenal and I don’t know when then it maybe somebody else. We want to be there after the last matchday. It’s obviously better to be there the whole time and get distance between you and the others.
“We are fine with our situation. I wish we had more points but I’m absolutely fine and over the moon actually that these boys brought us into that situation. The same boys who missed today a few chances are the boys who brought us 71 points.”
Klopp added: “Will there be more twists? It is likely, I can’t remember how many games we won in the run-in and City won but you have to win a lot of football games. You shouldn’t do what we do today constantly, that won’t be enough. Definitely not.
“But we know that. Still, if you work with human beings you have to take the things you get. I saw the boys wanting. I saw a top team today really in a difficult away game, it’s much more difficult for us than all other teams who usually come to United, people care a little bit more and when we come it’s game on, it’s tricky and we dealt quite well with it.
“We played two games and got one point and knocked out of the FA Cup. But for the majority of the time in all the time I’m here I don’t think we ever dominated United like we did in these two games but we didn’t get the results. There is obviously space for improvement which we knew anyway. We will keep going with all we have.”
