Jurgen Klopp talked about Jordan Pickford’s time-wasting tactics by Everton after Liverpool won the Merseyside derby
Speaking in the post-match presser as quoted by Metro, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp spoke about the tactics used by Everton, especially Jordan Pickford who wasted some precious time which ultimately hindered their rhythm.
The Reds were frustrated in the first half by the Toffees who defended exceptionally well and were looking to hit on the counter. They were well drilled on the day and making any inroads looked impossible for the Anfield outfit in the first half.
Liverpool finally managed to break the deadlock in the 62nd minute via a header from Andrew Robertson that rippled Pickford’s net. The Reds weren’t done yet as Divock Origi came and clinched the tie in the 85th minute with a clinical header that made it 2-0 on the evening.
Klopp admitted that he expected Frank Lampard’s men to waste time and break down their momentum, suggesting that they should have coped with it in a better manner. The most obvious instance of their time-wasting tactics was seen in the first-half stoppage time when their English goalkeeper grabbed the ball and dived onto the pitch unnecessarily.
‘Yes, of course we expected it but we didn’t react extremely well. It’s difficult, each ball Pickford has he takes five minutes so we couldn’t gain rhythm, which is important if you want to break down a low block. That’s what we expected them to do, we just should’ve coped better with it.
Every minute counts
It wouldn’t be fair if we hadn’t mentioned the heroics of Origi in this fixture throughout his career as a Liverpudlian. The Belgian international has bagged six goals and one assist in 12 matches across all competitions against the Toffees to date.
The 26-year-old is most likely to leave Anfield this summer and Klopp even went on to hail him as a ‘legend on and off the pitch’. Despite the different tactics employed by the Evertonians, he somehow manages to pull out a goal from the bag.
This victory was even more important considering the context of the Premier League title race this campaign as we trail Manchester City by a solitary point. We are forced to play against quite a few opponents who employ the low block due to our speed and attacking threat.
As the German manager highlighted, in such instances, we should be wary of the different threats used to roll down the clock and cope better with them. These subtle tricks do ultimately tarnish the spirit of the game but are at times inevitable. That is why Alisson Becker imitating Pickford by grabbing a shot and needlessly diving onto the field got a cheer as loud as any goal at Anfield would.
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We saw Villarreal FC pull off something similar in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final triumph against Bayern Munich. The Spanish club was well structured to absorb the attack, hit on the counter, and break any real momentum that the Bavarians had going for them.
Hopefully, the Reds will learn from the fixture against Everton and use it against the Yellow Submarine in our upcoming Champions League fixture. We have had an amazing season to this point, but complacency is the biggest enemy as we lie on the cusp of a potential quadruple right now.
