â€˜We are not Disneyland!â€™ - Klopp defends Liverpool's last 10 minutes in victory over Arsenal

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A late goal was not ideal, but the Reds manager believes the slip at the end of the match should not take away from the rest of a thorough win

Jurgen Klopp has said his Liverpool side does not have to be as exciting as â€œDisneylandâ€ at every moment, while hailing a strong performance in a 3-1 win over Arsenal.

In a match involving the only two perfect teams remaining in the Premier League, it was the Reds who emerged triumphant in the top of the table clash at Anfield.

Joel Matip scored late in the first half to put Liverpool in front, before Mohamed Salah won a penalty and scored from the spot early in the second 45.

An impressive run and finish by Salah later in the half put Liverpool up 3-0 with Lucas Torreiraâ€™s late consolation the ony reply from the Gunners.

Liverpool now have won a club-record 12 straight Premier League contests and Klopp was thrilled with his sideâ€™s performance in the victory and refused to let the gameâ€™s last 10 minutes spoil his joy.

â€œIt was a brilliant game from my side so early in the season,â€ Klopp told Sky Sports. â€œIt was outstanding. It was a performance full of power, energy, greed and passion, which I think you need to have against a team like Arsenal.

"We were a bit surprised by their system. We couldnâ€™t know that they would play a diamond, but we switched things around and coped very well.

â€œThe last 10 minutes I saw the possession â€“ 53 to 47 or something like that â€“ but over 80 minutes it must have been completely different. For 80 minutes we were completely in charge of the game.

â€œWe are not Disneyland, we do not need to excite everyone in every second.â€

Klopp was especially pleased with his teamâ€™s adaptation against Arsenalâ€™s diamond formation, which he admitted they had not seen in the Gunners matches they had studied in preparation.

â€œWe watched seven or eight games of Arsenal and there was no diamond but we adapted well,â€ Klopp told BBC Sport. â€œWe showed aggression and passion. In defending moments we were a bit too greedy, a bit too aggressive all going for the ball instead of spreading the options.

"We are still really early in the season and throwing such energy on the pitch is exceptional. The work rate of the whole team was exceptional. Tactical discipline was exceptional apart from maybe 10-15 minutes.â€

Liverpool will look to make it four wins in four games next week when they travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley.

2019-08-24 23:00:02

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