Jurgen Klopp’s No.2 Pep Lijnders has hailed the Reds’ strikeforce while also giving an update on Naby Keita’s recovery from injury
Liverpool assistant Pep Ljinders has compared their Mohamed Salah-led attack to “velociraptors in Jurassic Park” after seeing them maul Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Reds moved back up to second in the Premier League table with a stunning 5-0 victory over United on Sunday, which saw Salah take home the match ball after netting a hat-trick.
Naby Keita and Diogo Jota also got in on the act as Jurgen Klopp’s side laid down an early marker in the title race, and Lijnders has been left in awe by their clinical edge in the final third.
What’s been said?
Asked how Liverpool have become such an effective attacking outfit this season, Klopp’s No.2 told a press conference: “We’re shooting from everywhere! But no, I think it has a lot to do with how the team is playing so you can never judge scoring from just how we move the ball from the back, it’s the whole package that creates.
“Our front players constantly get into good positions to score and then the quality of our front three, we said they looked like velociraptors in Jurassic Park and they go for it.
“They are lethal and that is what we want, of course. So if you score in the right moments, these games against Manchester United are a great example of what can happen as well.”
Lijnders went on to insist that the Reds’ recent success is not the result of a change of approach on the training ground, with the squad simply considered to be in better shape than last term after a longer summer break.
“Did we change anything [in the summer]? No. We always just want to improve,” he added. “Sometimes proving it is just going back to basics and that is what we did in the summer.
“Also, top players – and we have a few, I think – need a break after some emotional periods, a lot of finals, a lot of intense seasons.
“It’s good for them to have a break because if you want to be consistent, you have to respect recovery and the process of recovery and that is not only between the games but the seasons. Long may it continue!”
Keita fitness update
Lijnders, who was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup round-of-16 tie against Preston in midweek, also provided an update on the fitness of Naby Keita following his injury-enforced withdrawal against United.
The midfielder had to be stretchered off the pitch after a challenge from Paul Pogba, who was shown a red card, but Lijnders says the issue is not as serious as initially feared.
“It was a bad tackle, but luckily Naby’s foot was not on the ground,” he said. “It’s just a bruise, it could have been much worse if his foot was in the grass. We’ll take it day by day, but a bruise is painful of course.”
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