A lot has happened at Liverpool since May’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
However, Jurgen Klopp insists his players have now forgotten about that painful night in Kiev as they prepare “to go again” in their Premier League opener against West Ham on Super Sunday.
“It is no problem,” insisted the Liverpool manager in an exclusive interview with Soccer Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp says his players have forgotten about what happened in Kiev in May
“There are bigger problems in life than losing a Champions League final, so we all have bigger problems than losing a Champions League final.
“We tried everything, it did not happen, so that is all. It is a long time ago and a waste of time having that in your mind. So no problem, we go again.”
One way to soothe the pain of losing the final of Europe’s premier club competition is, of course, to splash more than £175m on four new recruits, £67m of which went on luring Brazil No 1 Alisson to Anfield.
The 25-year-old will make his competitive debut for his new club in Sunday’s clash with West Ham at Anfield, replacing Loris Karius in goal after the German’s two mistakes against Real in the Ukrainian capital.
“The good thing is from the first day he has been very stable and calm, but then again we already knew a few things about his personality when we signed him,” said Klopp of his new goalkeeper.
“And apart from catching balls, that helps massively. You need to have the right personality for that very difficult job. And obviously he has that.”
Phil Thompson says that Liverpool’s signing of goalkeeper Allison will add strength to the squad as they aim to compete for the Premier League title this season.
Goalkeeper signing ‘key for Liverpool’
Another player certain to start against the Hammers is Mo Salah, who scored an incredible 32 goals in just 36 league games in his debut campaign for Liverpool last season.
Klopp has not considered offering his Egypt forward advice on how to repeat those record-breaking exploits.
“We are not bothering constantly about how he can play the same season,” said the German of last season’s PFA and FWA Footballer of the Year. “He wants to play good football, as good as he is able to do.
“So why should I tell him? It is obvious that he has to do it again, you can see in each session that he is a fantastic professional.
“I do not go to him every day and give him advice on how he scores 54 goals next season as actually I have no clue. We try to help him all the time in training, he is a great boy, but I do not talk to him every day about how he can score more than last season.”
As well as the goals of Salah and the imposing presence of Alisson between the sticks, Liverpool fans can also look forward to seeing fellow new boys Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabinho and Naby Keita this season.
I do not go to him every day and give him advice on how he scores 54 goals next season as actually I have no clue.
Jurgen Klopp
And it is that quartet of signings that has led many experts to predict Klopp’s exciting team will run champions Manchester City close this time around.
Klopp, however, is realistic about his side’s chances.
“I do not know (if Liverpool can win the league),” he said. “That depends only on how we play, perform and fight, not on what I say now. How we react in the games and finish them.
Fabinho: United didn’t make offer
New Liverpool signing Fabinho insists he was never close to a move to Manchester United despite reports linking him with the club before his move to Anfield.
Fabinho: United didn’t make offer
“We do not have to play much better in the games against City – if we perform like we did last year, that would already be good.
“The points we lost between us and City were obviously for different reasons and mostly because we did not win all the other games. That is the case and a fact.”
