Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hailed the ‘incredible’ achievement of setting a new unbeaten club record but admits he has little time to enjoy it.
Klopp’s side set a new club landmark of 64 home league matches without defeat – eclipsing the great team of the late 1970s and early 1980s – with Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Leicester after Jonny Evans’ early own goal.
Jota also reached his own personal milestone, becoming the first Liverpool player to score in his first four top-flight league appearances at Anfield.
Liverpool were without nine players – including the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara – but were still too good for the Foxes and former Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.
The performance felt like a real statement of intent, like the one delivered at the King Power on Boxing Day when they blew away nearest-challengers Leicester as their run to the title gathered pace albeit in a different style.
‘My problem is that in the moment I spoke so much about football and I think about the next game,’ he said.
‘But there will be a moment in the future when I think back and hopefully it will not be the number 64 but more.
‘It is incredible but all about the boys. It is really difficult to achieve something like this but when you think about how tight a lot of the games were and the boys had to dig in and they did that.
‘The boys on the pitch performance-wise are incredible and that is the only reason for the number. It is difficult to set records at this club because our fathers and grandfathers were obviously pretty good.
‘I am happy for the players but it doesn’t feel like this in the moment because we play on Wednesday [against Atalanta in the Champions League].’
Klopp also revealed Salah has now returned a negative test for Covid-19 after two positives while on international duty with Egypt.
He expects the forward to train on Tuesday with a view to playing again on Wednesday.
‘That’s what I’ve heard, a negative today,’ he added.
‘I think from now he is pretty normal in all the testing. Tomorrow we have Uefa testing and I am pretty sure he will be in that.
‘He can train with us tomorrow. There are two tests in the next two days, so he will be tested.’
Rodgers was disappointed with the way they started the game but admitted the best team won.
‘I think it is an easy game to analyse: first half with and without the ball we weren’t aggressive enough,’ he said.
‘We had a couple of moments – Harvey [Barnes] had a great chance – but the first goal is one of those things. The best team won, we are disappointed with the performance and result.’
Rodgers denied it was a missed opportunity with Liverpool’s lengthy injury list.
‘Everyone’s talked about Liverpool’s injuries and that was the narrative going into this game but it is still a top-class team with players who can hurt you,’ he added.
