ReactionJürgen Klopp press conference: 'Bournemouth win was super-deserved'
Jürgen Klopp praised Liverpool's impressive second-half performance against AFC Bournemouth, believing his side secured a 'super-deserved' 4-0 victory at Vitality Stadium.
The Reds earned an emphatic Premier League win on the south coast on Sunday afternoon, with both Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota netting a brace in the second period of the contest.
The result saw Liverpool move five points clear at the top of the table following their return to action after a top-flight winter break.
Read a summary of Klopp's verdict on the game from his post-match press conference below...
On the difference between the performance in the first and second halves...
First half, so let me say it like this, I spoke a couple of times about periods when we had five games in 13 days, stuff like this; really tough. Now we had 11 days off, we trained five days of these 11 days and we lacked rhythm. I don't complain about it, it's our fault, but it's really tricky, but the other team had the same situation. They had rhythm because it's pretty important to have a good start and we had the opposite of a good start. We put ourselves under pressure with the first ball pretty much. They had corners, throw-ins, then we were kind of in a rush. We had football moments, they were alright without creating properly, but they were alright, but not enough.
Then we played long balls when we should've played between the lines and the other way around as well. So, it was not good. [At] half-time we had two or three situations we could show the boys how it should look and it helped a little bit with the position change of the front three. But in general we showed them where the spaces are where we could play and how important it is if we really push up to win the ball back high.
Yeah, now the second half was our start, it's the other way around. In the moment we find rhythm, we are strong, I have to say that looks then really, really good. But without rhythm probably nobody is strong. We should start games better but it's anyway about 98 minutes... it's about winning the games in the end. As long as we stay in the game pretty much everything what happens in the game is allowed. We don't have to perform for 98 minutes [at an] absolutely top level. It's pretty rare. Today step by step we found a way in the game and won it.
On Alexis Mac Allister's performance in the first half...
Thank you for mentioning that. Sometimes people forget that because in the second half we scored the goals. Absolutely exceptional performance, I have to say. I'm so happy for us, obviously, but for him as well, he's a really good footballer, let me say it like that. Defensively did a good job and offensively he is anyway a super-important player for us, he was calm on the ball, all the good things in the first half already happened with him. Yeah, really happy.
On his impressions of Conor Bradley's first Premier League start...
Hopefully the same as you, pretty good. Really, really good. Very impressive. I can say exactly the same, a wonderful kid, a really hard worker, and a good footballer. He is a defender but he can attack as well. He could've scored, probably should've scored a header. I forgot that. No, he should've scored in that situation. But anyhow it was a really good game and for the first one, yeah, sometimes you have to forget your first game because it's just your first one, but no he shouldn't, that's a good start.
On moving Nunez into the middle from the left in the second half...
In the situation we are in without Mo [Salah], for example, we have to find a way. We have players who can play [on] the right wing, and they can all play [on] the right wing, but which is the best position? And how do we set up the rest around? Darwin can obviously play [on] the left wing, he did [that] before. We were in general in the first half too static. On the left wing as well, Darwin plays there, Joe [Gomez] is a bit deeper, protects there, waiting too much for long balls in behind, we weren't really involved enough in possession moments. Lucho [Luis Diaz] struggled slightly on the right wing and Diogo played an OK game, I think, but we had not a lot of moments there, to be honest. So, we had to make a decision [to] bring Darwin in his position and bring Lucho in his position and ask Diogo to do the job there. Diogo is, how I said, they can all play [on] the right wing, and he did before, but on top of that [he's] a really smart player, but in general we just started playing better [in the] midfield as well.
That's important because I'm not 100 per cent [sure] which goal we scored after we won the ball back, but that wouldn't have happened in the first half I'm pretty sure because we didn't push up. This half-time, they are important, you can ask me completely rightly so why you didn't start like that in the first place? It's absolutely right. But the good thing is after half-time you can see yourself from outside but it's difficult to change it on the pitch because we spoke about that before; where are the half-spaces? We had two or three good moments which we could show the boys. If we do that then Bournemouth will see that we are stronger than we showed up in the first half and that's the first step into the game and that's why in the end it was [a] super-deserved win, which didn't look like that for a long time in the first half.
On Curtis Jones' enforced substitution in the second half...
We all hope and Curtis as well. He felt it a little bit. He had last week already a little bit, but then nothing was there. Curtis is a very experienced player and thought, 'It's 3-0, why should I risk it?' I hope that's exactly how it was.