Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are currently having to do without two of their star strikers who are at AFCON along with midfielder Naby Keita
Jurgen Klopp has confessed that Liverpool have had to replace Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and that they have had to adapt defensively after the strikers left for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Reds head to Crystal Palace on Sunday having preserved clean sheets in each of their past three games after only managing two shutouts in their previous ten games since the beginning of December.
Explaining how Liverpool has adjusted without the offensive combination and Naby Keita, Klopp reaffirmed his belief in his squad’s ability to produce success regardless of who is available.
And while he has been pleased to see the Reds’ defensive record improve recently, and hailed their efforts for doing so, he insisted he expected them to do the same anyway, regardless of Salah, Mane and Keita’s availability, if they are to have a successful season.
“It’s essential (having a strong defence), it’s the only way you can do it,” Klopp told reporters. “When you lose key players to injuries or tournaments, the solution is not that you will be flying in the next game, that you say, ‘okay, now we score five or six and will create chances like hell’.
“Wherever they are on the pitch, if they’re strikers, midfielders or whatever, you lose key players and you have to adapt. In our case it was 100% clear that we need to be solid, rock-solid. We have to be and we know that, it’s a clear agreement.” Said the Liverpool manager
Liverpool will be missing Salah, Mane, and Keita for the trip to Palace, but depending on their success in the continental event, the three might return for next month’s FA Cup meeting with Cardiff City.
And Klopp is looking forward to bringing them back into his squad, saying that it offers him no more gratification when his team wins without their assistance.
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