Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has stated that he had no doubts over the quality of his squad, but was still delighted the Reds’ fringe players shined bright in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.
Liverpool cruised to a 5-2 victory over their fierce rivals Everton at Anfield on Wednesday as Klopp brought up his 100th Premier League win in the process.
The Merseyside win also marked a new club record for Liverpool as they extended their unbeaten streak in the top flight to 32 matches since they were defeated by Manchester City in January earlier this year.
Belgian striker Divock Origi scored twice on the night to take his tally of derby goals to five in his career, while Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri capped his first start of the season with a goal and first-team regulars Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum also got on the scoresheet.
Having made five changes to his first team, the 52-year-old Jurgen Klopp stated that he was extremely pleased with the other members of his squad, “I speak a lot about the quality of the squad so I have to show it from time to time, but then the boys have to show they can perform. It was incredible – Divock’s goals, Sadio’s passes, Shaq’s linking play, everything, Adam Lallana was everywhere and we had so many really good moments.
Klopp further explained that he would like to have had a better defensive record against the Blues side of Merseyside, “But of course a bit rusty in defending, they were really direct. [Everton] couldn’t defend us but offensively they caused us problems at times. All good at 4-1, the goal for 4-2 I didn’t like too much because the injury time is three minutes and we start playing an offensive pass. But we have to learn, have to improve and we will do.
The Reds are now eight points clear of 2nd placed Leicester City and are looking to end their 30-year drought for a Premier League title.
