Sunday’s chaotic 2-2 draw at Old Trafford was a missed opportunity for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool to return to the helm of the Premier League table, following Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Brighton.
The visitors would be needing three points if they were to lay claim to the top spot once again, but they were only able to force a share of the spoils at the Theatre of Dreams when Mohamed Salah restored parity with a late penalty effort.
Liverpool were the dominant force for much of the match, recording a staggering 28 shots – and Klopp explained post match that ‘there is probably something around the finishing, it was either exceptional goalkeeping – which was the case for one situation for Dom Szoboszlai, [which] was an incredible save – but besides that we should and could have been calmer and clearer in moments.’
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Klopp did not beat around the bush, and accepted that better stats do not always correlate to victory. ‘You can say if we had that much of a dominance for long parts we should win the game,’ he suggested, going on to admit that ‘that’s true – but you all are long enough in football that it doesn’t mean you will win.’
‘It just means you should and that is obviously different very often to the final scoreline. 2-2, I am not over the moon about it, I don’t think it’s the best result I’ve ever seen, but I am fine. Now we recover and play Atalanta in the Europa League.’
Liverpool remain level on points with Arsenal, trailing the Gunners on goal difference alone. Klopp is not flustered by the way the table is shaping up though, assuring fans that ‘we are fine with our situation. I wish we would have more points, but I am absolutely fine – and I am actually over the moon these boys brought us into that situation. The same boys that missed a few chances today are the boys who brought us 71 points, so I am absolutely fine with that.’
