Jürgen Klopp on Atalanta challenge, CL qualification and Curtis Jones
Jürgen Klopp discussed a range of topics when previewing Liverpool's Champions League encounter with Atalanta BC at Anfield.
The Reds boss fielded questions from journalists via video link on Tuesday lunchtime ahead of the game, which could see his side secure qualification to the knockout stages with a victory.
Klopp's men have made a flawless start in Group D and will be looking to make it 12 points from a possible 12 at 8pm GMT on Wednesday.
Read on for a summary of the manager's pre-match press conference...
On the development of Curtis Jones...
Very, very positive. Not too surprised about the sports part of it. I'm five years in the club and I think five years ago I saw him the first time and everybody could see already what an exceptional player he can be. When you are in an environment like a top-class football team and you are one of the top talents in the club, a lot of things can happen to you as a person. His personal development is even more positive than his sports development. Great lad, really super player and it's really good for us – last season already but this season especially. So, he just made the next step. I'm pleased for him and good for us as well.
On Atalanta arriving at Anfield with a point to prove after their 5-0 defeat in Bergamo earlier this month...
Atalanta is a threat without a point to prove, to be honest, but of course. The night in Atalanta was a really special one. We played exceptionally well and pretty much [did] everything right in the right moment, in the right manner. So many things came together that we won that game the way we won it. But we are not only in the business since yesterday, so we know that this game has nothing to do with the game tomorrow night. That means we have to be ready again. Atalanta is a top team and with a special way to play. At Atalanta, we did really well and we have to do well again, otherwise we have massive problems. I expect problems, to be honest, in the game because it's always like this. But we try to work on solutions for the potential problems in the short period of time we have in our hands.
On victory securing qualification for the knockout rounds and potentially taking pressure off the final two matches in the group phase...
Yeah, but you can only play one game. We cannot play two or three games in one. I know, it's all clear, that's all on the table, we don't have to mention it. Everybody knows if we would win then some problems would be sorted, but that's not the reason. The reason is we have to play, we have to be ready to work really, really, really hard against them. This man-marking system is a tough one to play against, that's why they were so successful in the past. Yes, it didn't work out against us the last time but they will not change it and we have to do it in a similar way, like we did in the other game. But since then a lot of games were played, a lot of things happened since then. So, we will see who we can line up tomorrow night and then we try to make the best of the situation.
On Liverpool's recent defensive form and what he attributes it to in the absence of several players…
When would we do extra work? Either we're not here or we play, there's no extra time for any extra work. Thank God I have a pretty smart team and the work happens in the meeting room and not on the football pitch, to be honest – or not a lot of it, at least. I really think it's funny to talk to us about defensive struggles before. Yes, we lost against Aston Villa and I know we conceded seven goals, I will never forget that, but before that we defended not that bad. After that, we didn't do that bad, so we know how to defend. How the boys do it was exceptional because it was different line-ups, different pairings, all these kind of things. Now we have to keep doing it like this – or even better – because we only have [had] nine matchdays in the Premier League and three in the Champions League, so that's a really, really young season and there's so many games to play and challenges to face. We will try to be always spot on in the games, but the changes we have to make, we will make. The boys have to adapt to each other immediately and there will be different line-ups in the last line as well, we cannot change that. [It is an] interesting situation but not all of it is born on the training pitch because the schedule doesn't give us a lot of time to work on it.
On Takumi Minamino…
No, there's no dip in form. Taki is training well; yesterday, he trained exceptionally, for example. It's the last session I have in mind and he was really, really good. It is just a strong team and offensively, thank God, we don't have the same problems we have in pretty much all the other positions, so it's hard to get into this team. That's how it is. But there is no dip in form, it's just a challenge. Taki is a sensational boy and a great player, he is facing that challenge, he is working hard and his time will come, no doubt.
On players travelling during international breaks…
It's the normal situation, that's how it always was. Yes, it has a massive impact. We spoke about it a lot of times; players playing in South America, Wednesday night, coming back [on] Friday, playing Saturday, it is of course not ideal. We have exactly the same situation, so no advantage for us or for Atalanta, we all have the same situation. The weekend, the little difference was for the first time probably since I'm in Liverpool, after an international break we played on Sunday instead of Saturday. It's tough to deal with it, honestly, but here in this conversation we will not change. I read about Atalanta had problems with it, players only had one session together – that's what we have constantly. It's tough to deal with but that's the job to do.