Lucas: Our determination repaid the manager's trust
Jürgen Klopp was rewarded for trusting an entirely different Liverpool XI to beat Tottenham Hotspur, according to Lucas Leiva.
The manager completely changed his side for the EFL Cup tie at Anfield and watched the Reds establish a two-goal lead through Daniel Sturridge.
A Vincent Janssen penalty set up a potentially nervy final quarter of an hour but Lucas – the captain for the night – and his colleagues held off their Premier League rivals.
The Brazilian felt the result was founded on the spirit of the players who came in.
“[Klopp] showed the trust he has in the squad,” Lucas told Liverpoolfc.com after the game.
“We probably didn’t expect that many changes until Monday. After 70 minutes we started to struggle a little bit; it’s normal, some of us haven’t played much in the last few weeks.
“But at the end we showed a lot of hunger and determination to win and get through to the next round.”
LFCTV GO: Lucas reflects on EFL Cup progress
He continued: “We expected a very strong team and a very difficult game. We could see it was two very good teams trying to win.
“I think we deserved it because in the end we were better than them. Probably the last 15 minutes they were better than us, but throughout the game I think we were better and deserved it.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his competitive debut for Liverpool at right-back in the clash, while Ovie Ejaria was handed a first start in a diamond midfield.
The occasion capped a year of outstanding progress for both youngsters – and Lucas has already seen enough to be excited by their long-term potential.
“They are fantastic players,” he said.
“They are very young and still learning, but they are very good boys and they have already improved a lot since they started with us.
“They have a brilliant future ahead of them and hopefully it will be here at Liverpool.”