Sport

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp unperturbed by first-leg loss

Matthaus also revealed that he always had huge respect for Klopp as a coach, as he knows how to motivate his players to give their all on the pitch when needed.

Klopp may have tried to manage expectations of a repeat of the drama of a fortnight ago - when Dejan Lovren struck an injury-time victor as the Reds produced a miraculous comeback against Borussia Dortmund - in his post-match press conference but Lallana is stirred by still-fresh memories of what turned out to be a famous Anfield night.

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has warned manager Jurgen Klopp he wants to be starting matches on a regular basis. I think nobody in this room thinks after the games we had, we should start at 12. With a 1-0 defeat you can not be sure it is 100 per cent right.

Speaking at his pre-match media conference on Friday, Klopp commented: "We have to respect intensity of the last game and think about the line-up for Sunday". We have to travel to Cardiff and drive to Swansea.

"We had one or two situations when we were defending set pieces, and Christian can help us with those, so it was not really about attacking", he said.

"I thought about a lot of things and at the end I decided for a little bit more stability", said the former Dortmund trainer.

"I'm pleased with a lot of the performance".

Lallana is sure that will stand them in good stead when it the time comes to deliver next Thursday.

The Liverpool fans here in the Transfer Tavern are still nursing killer hangover's after drowning their sorrows following Thursday's 1-0 reverse to Villarreal in the Europa League.

"Until the last time you can score a goal and this time we were tastefully blessed to score in the most recent conceivable time". It would be interesting to know who makes these things. "It was not an unfair result and we didn't beat Liverpool by being lucky".

The Reds have dropped the most points from winning positions in the Premier League in the current campaign and it was a major factor in their inconsistency in his first few months in charge.

"We will go there and try to win".

Sturridge's absence was a unusual one considering he's bagged four goals in his last five games.

stayontheblack.com

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp unperturbed by first-leg loss