Reds manager Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool to stop relying on late goals following the physically taxing 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino tucked home an 85th-minute winner against the South London outfit to preserve the Premier League leaders’ eight-point advantage over second-placed Leicester City on the table.
Senegalese winger Sadio Mane put the visitors ahead early in the second half, but it looked like the spoils would be shared after Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha equalized eight minutes from the full-time whistle.
Firmino’s late winner meant that the European champions have snatched vital points with goals in the 85th minute or later from four of their past six league fixtures which has become a key component of their characters with a ‘never say die’ attitude.
In a post-match press conference after the Palace game, Jurgen Klopp stated that his team cannot keep on scoring late goals and must ensure that they take control of the game rather than allowing their opponents a way back, “You can’t take it for granted, I don’t like to talk about it. I understand why you are asking. It’s not like ‘very good, seven minutes to go, let’s start winning now’. That’s not what we are like. We don’t think about it, we just know. We have had four years together. I know a lot about my team.
The 52-year-old German boss further added by saying that it was a difficult game in terms of fitness but there were a lot of other factors including the international break, “I know what we want, I know what we have to do for it. But we’re not the only team who knows that. It was difficult to fitness-wise at Palace because there were so many different things. We know a lot, but we don’t know exactly what the boys have been doing with their national teams. They are nine or 10 days away with their national teams. That’s a lot of sessions.”
