Jurgen Klopp has revealed what he told his Brighton counterpart Roberto De Zerbi after Liverpool’s 2-1 win against the Seagulls on Easter Sunday.
The Reds returned to the top of the table by claiming all three points at Anfield but they were made to work incredibly hard by a well-organised and resolute Brighton side.
Liverpool came from behind to secure victory, with many seeing Sunday’s encounter as De Zerbi’s audition to succeed Klopp in the Anfield dugout at the end of the season.
The Italian has been linked with a move to Merseyside and is known to be appreciated by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes.
While Liverpool fans are uncertain on the potential appointment of the 44-year-old, Klopp was full of praise for the Brighton boss after the full-time whistle.
Klopp has always been a huge admirer of the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk boss, and enjoyed a brief chat with him after the match at Anfield had come to an end.
Asked what he said to De Zerbi, Klopp told the BBC:
“I told De Zerbi to keep turning the football world upside down. I will watch it from some distance. I respect so much what he’s doing.”
He added: “It is incredible what he has done. Brighton have lost Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, they have lots of injuries, but he puts a team like that together. An incredible job.”
De Zerbi is currently considered the runner-up to new favourite Ruben Amorim for the Liverpool post, with Sunday’s encounter the first in which Klopp has managed to beat the Brighton boss.
The young coach has done a superb job since succeeding Graham Potter on the south coast and is also a managerial target for Bayern Munich this summer.
