LIVERPOOL MANAGER Jurgen Klopp has told his team they will have to “go for it” in the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie against Augsburg.
A dull first leg at the WWK Arena finished 0-0 on Thursday, leaving Klopp’s men with work to do heading back to Anfield in a week’s time.
Displeased with his team’s performance, Klopp warned them they would need to attack in front of their home fans.
“How it could be easier? Winning 5-0 tonight and making a friendly game in the rematch? It’s not possible to beat Augsburg 5-0, so there was no chance for us to have an easy game in the second leg,” he said.
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“If you win 1-0 or 2-0 tonight, nothing is decided. We have to be really concentrated in the second leg and show that we want to go to the next round.
“If you always give 100 per cent, in the end you get the benefit. If you save energy or power for the final, you will lose on Thursday and Sunday. So we should be concentrated on Thursday and then think about Sunday.
“Augsburg will come to Liverpool, they will defend and they’ll play for the counter-attack. I think the result is good. We know an away goal would have been good. We didn’t get it, so now we’ve got to go for it in Liverpool.”
Daniel Sturridge had Liverpool’s best chance in the second half, but he failed to capitalise in what was just his third game back from injury.
Klopp said the England international needed more time to recapture his best form.
“It is clear that Daniel Sturridge is not very fit after the long break. He needs the matches and the rhythm. And you can see that he hasn’t yet,” he said.
“But when the time comes, he is an exceptional footballer. One cannot imagine how good. But he had a long break.
“Philippe Coutinho has shown a lot in the second half. With him it is the same. He also had two serious injuries.
“Roberto Firmino is a great player who is very important for us. But he has just run too much in recent games. This, of course, is not so good. It costs power for offensive action.
“We have many examples. It is true that we actually do not always play at our limit. We could get close to 100 percent more often.”
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Liverpool must attack in second leg - Klopp
LIVERPOOL MANAGER Jurgen Klopp has told his team they will have to “go for it” in the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie against Augsburg.
A dull first leg at the WWK Arena finished 0-0 on Thursday, leaving Klopp’s men with work to do heading back to Anfield in a week’s time.
Displeased with his team’s performance, Klopp warned them they would need to attack in front of their home fans.
“How it could be easier? Winning 5-0 tonight and making a friendly game in the rematch? It’s not possible to beat Augsburg 5-0, so there was no chance for us to have an easy game in the second leg,” he said.
“If you win 1-0 or 2-0 tonight, nothing is decided. We have to be really concentrated in the second leg and show that we want to go to the next round.
“Augsburg will come to Liverpool, they will defend and they’ll play for the counter-attack. I think the result is good. We know an away goal would have been good. We didn’t get it, so now we’ve got to go for it in Liverpool.”
Daniel Sturridge had Liverpool’s best chance in the second half, but he failed to capitalise in what was just his third game back from injury.
Klopp said the England international needed more time to recapture his best form.
“It is clear that Daniel Sturridge is not very fit after the long break. He needs the matches and the rhythm. And you can see that he hasn’t yet,” he said.
“But when the time comes, he is an exceptional footballer. One cannot imagine how good. But he had a long break.
“Philippe Coutinho has shown a lot in the second half. With him it is the same. He also had two serious injuries.
“Roberto Firmino is a great player who is very important for us. But he has just run too much in recent games. This, of course, is not so good. It costs power for offensive action.
“We have many examples. It is true that we actually do not always play at our limit. We could get close to 100 percent more often.”
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UEFA Europa League Football Jurgen Klopp LFC Liverpool