Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool “could have been better” in his side’s 2-0 win over Porto on Wednesday night.
Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara scored a beautiful goal to open the scoring before Mohamed Salah made it two with 20 minutes remaining
Victory continued the Reds’ 100 per cent record in Group B as they sit ten points ahead of Wednesday’s opponents who occupy second place.
One star worth the admission alone at each Premier League club
“We could have been better,” Klopp told BT Sport. “We could have been more calm in goal-scoring situations but we were a bit hectic. That’s ok, but you could see from the boys the desire to win the game. We were not here for an easy game. Anfield was sold out and that means we want to go.
“We won the game with two exceptional goals, especially Thiago’s – wow! All good.
THAT IS WORLD CLASS! ✨
Just ridiculous from Thiago! 😱🔥
Wait for the angle from behind… 🤤 pic.twitter.com/21X1XkxW1W
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 24, 2021
“So many good things happened tonight. The team performance and individually.
“Some players could get minutes, rhythm, confidence. Nobody got hurt. We could bring the right players on. Milner got 15 minutes, Henderson got on, Robertson played minutes. The right players could get rested. For Trent and Virgil, it was important that they do not play constantly.
On Tyler Morton’s full debut, the German added: “If you are in our squad you are a good football player. I would not throw a player in the game if they are not ready.
“Neco [Williams] we already know. With Tyler the world might have been surprised. Tyler did exceptionally well. I’m pleased for him that he could put a performance like that in at Anfield.”
Next up for Liverpool is Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon before facing arch-rivals Everton four days later.
The Toffees are notably managed by former Reds boss Rafael Benitez, who is preparing for his first Merseyside derby in the Blues’ dugout.
And speaking on the Spaniard, former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel admitted to having a “weird relationship” with Benitez.
“It was, in my opinion, a weird relationship [with Benitez] because when he signed me I looked at him as the big uncle who wanted to give me a chance and help me succeed,” Babel told The Guardian.
“But then as we went on he left me totally on my own and only judged me for the things I didn’t do right instead of telling me how to solve or improve the things I had to improve.”