Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has explained how his side counter-pressed their way to victory against Cardiff City on Saturday.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the German detailed the importance of his side’s tactical approach to proceedings and credited Liverpool’s ruthless attacking display.
The Reds returned to their free-scoring ways in the Premier League at Anfield as they defeated the Bluebirds 4-1. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring, Xherdan Shaqiri netted his first Liverpool goal and Sadio Mane ended a mini-goal drought to fire home a brace.
This comprehensive win lifted Liverpool to the top of the table as they continued their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season.
Klopp was evidently impressed by the way in which his men carried out their game-plan against Neil Warnock’s side and spoke about the influence of counter-pressing following the victory.
The Reds’ boss said:
It’s like a whole counter-press situation: lose the ball, get it back, shoot and fire in, so that’s really good. We had these situations against Belgrade [and] you need that. You need that constantly, actually.
You need to play the pass with the risk to lose it. If you lose it you can win it back and then you have a gap at least for a second or so. To create a gap in a game like this you need kind of 10, 15 passes.
Liverpool’s next fixture in the Premier League is a testing encounter with Arsenal, who are currently enjoying a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
