Klopp: Why we will not underestimate Chelsea
Jürgen Klopp insists Chelsea's recent form will not make Liverpool's task any easier at Stamford Bridge on Saturday – but the manager is carrying out due diligence to find a way for his side to succeed.
The German enjoyed his first victory in charge of the Reds on Wednesday evening when they defeated Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup and is undefeated in his four games so far.
That record will next be tested by the reigning Barclays Premier League champions, who find themselves under pressure having won only one of their past seven matches in all competitions.
But Klopp has been in football long enough to know the Londoners should not be underestimated, saying at his pre-match press conference: “I’m experienced in this! Things like this can happen.
“I’m not close enough to Chelsea to know the reasons and I’m not a journalist – I don’t have to think all day about why things are like they are.
“I’m interested, of course, in the football Chelsea played in the last few weeks and it was not as bad as the results maybe show us.
“We have to do our analysis and we feel we are prepared for the game, but we have to respect the quality of Chelsea. Let’s try everything and play well, and if it’s possible, take the points.”
He continued: “Do the Chelsea players not know how to play football anymore? No, of course not.
“They did well in the last game and had very, very good and brilliant moments in the game before, but they didn’t win often enough.
“You know how Chelsea play – usually it is with a very good defence and structure.
“They have big, big, big individual quality to finish all the situations – you don’t only have to talk about Hazard, you can also talk about Costa, Willian, Oscar, Ramires and Matic. All these guys are great football players.
“And then their set-plays with Cahill, Terry and all of these big guys. It is difficult to play against Chelsea, but it is not impossible to win.
“I am not sure it is easier now to play against them – why should it be [easier] than before? Last year they were full of self-confidence and that may make some things different, but to be wounded can make you stronger too.
“For sure, at the moment they don’t feel life is as good as it should be, and now they want to change that. That is big motivation, but we are motivated too and we will try.
“In the end, we cannot decide this game here and now, we have to play and that is what I am really looking forward to. It will be my first time there, so it will be a good moment.”
Reporters at the briefing were keen to gauge Klopp’s thoughts on whether the trip to Chelsea represents the most difficult challenge for his team since he took the reins.
His response was typically thoughtful.
“It is a big match but it’s football and I’ve been in this job 15 years – I’ve had some big matches,” said the boss. “First of all you have to respect that it’s a match you can win.
“That’s the cool thing in football and that’s what I think about, nothing else. I don’t read the newspapers so I don’t know what you think about this game, but it wouldn’t change anything in my mind.
“I’m full of motivation to win not only games like this, but football games.
“The better the opponent, the more excited the world around us. We have a chance to improve our situation and that’s what we want to do. Not think too much about the opponent.
“We have to look at how they play and where we can close spaces so they can’t play like they want to. And where we can use spaces, where they don’t like to defend for example. These are the things I’m thinking about.”
The Stamford Bridge encounter is the Reds’ fifth fixture in a fortnight as cup and European commitments continue to tee up three games a week.
But Klopp sees the hectic schedule as a positive rather than a negative, offering more opportunities to develop with the boss’ new approach.
He said: “I couldn’t be further away from frustrated at the moment – it’s the situation, it’s no problem. If I was frustrated because of this, maybe I should have stayed on holiday!
“But I didn’t want to. I wanted to come here; I knew about the matches, I saw the matches before I came here, I knew there weren’t the easiest opponents in the world. That’s no problem.
“Of course, in a perfect world we would try to have more time to train but that’s not possible.
“Two weeks here and five games, but it feels like six to eight weeks. It’s getting better and we learn quickly – as a manager and my coaching staff, and players as well. We are finding our way together.”