Jurgen Klopp believes his “new” Liverpool will learn more about what they can achieve from their emphatic win at Newcastle United, but admits there are still some issues to be ironed out.
Despite captain Virgil van Dijk being ruled out for more than an hour, the Reds maintained their position as they came from behind to beat their top four opponents 2-1 on Sunday.
It was the first time the summer midfield arrivals of £35million Alexis Mac Allister, £60m Dominik Szoboszlai and £16.25m Wataru Endo played together in the engine room, with the latter given his first start and young centre-back Jarell Quansah handed a senior debut from the bench in the final stage.
Klopp believes his new squad have set an early benchmark for themselves and praised dual target Darwin Nunez for his reaction to not being named in the starting line-up.
Asked if the result could act as a springboard for Liverpool’s season, the Reds boss said: “Yes, it is. Every great story needs a moment of truth and we’ll see if it’s a moment of truth. “We are young in this area, we have new key players on the pitch. We have to react and create, learn and this helps.
It is much better than four to five or five to zero if you think everything is easy. Nothing is easy (in Newcastle).
“What the boys did speak for itself. It was a great show. It’s big, big, big, as big as it gets. It made a lot of sense to calm the game down,and Darwin was clearly delighted with my decision. Two goals and omg I’d say your reaction couldn’t have been better.
“After the red card we played better than before and that was a problem because we didn’t play enough. We can play better with the ball. These boys are really ready to go. Let’s hope they’re OK for now with the next high-intensity game against Aston Villa coming up. ”
Klopp also reiterated his belief in an interview with LFC TV: the win was one of his best in eight years, as Liverpool extended their Premier League record for goals scored in the 90th minute or later to 42 goals.
“It’s special,” he said. “As soon as my grandson understands, I’ll tell him the story, 100%. It’s a special, special day. We’ve been through a few – we don’t know what it’s going to lead to – but this one is special.
“It’s very difficult to write a new history at this great football club, but I’m pretty sure there’s a place for it now. I don’t remember anything like that happening. “
