Defeat Luton, It Turns Out That Klopp Is Inspired By Liverpool's Victory Over Barcelona

JAKARTA - Jurgen Klopp's manager was inspired by Liverpool's brilliant victory over Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals when they beat Luton Town 4-1.

Luton is indeed a team that is threatened with relegation. However, Luton was able to make it difficult for Liverpool to duel at Anfield Stadium, Thursday, February 22, 2024, early morning WIB.

How not, Liverpool fell behind through Chiedozie Ogbene's goal. In fact, the 1-0 score for Luton lasted until the end of the first half.

Liverpool only got up in the second half. Captain Virgil van Dijk started the victory. Furthermore, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, and Harvey Elliott took turns breaking into the opponent's goal. Liverpool also won 4-1 and moved away from Manchester City's pursuit.

The victory over Luton, Klopp acknowledged, was inspired by Liverpool's brilliant achievement when they beat Barca five years ago. At that time, Liverpool had lost 0-3 in the first leg at Barca.

Liverpool are also considered difficult to reverse because they have to win four goals without reply at Anfield. In his absence, the Reds lost pillar players, such as Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

However, Barca did not move at all against Van Dijk et al. Liverpool won 4-0 and won 4-3 on aggregate. Liverpool stepped into the final and then won after defeating Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite his great success, Klopp promised not to use Liverpool's brilliant achievements as an example when the team played any matches. However, the German manager was forced to break the promise.

Because of this, Liverpool lost many players at home to Luton. Not only Salah was absent due to injury, but also Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, to goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

"I was forced to break my promise," Klopp said with a laugh.

"It's just that the situation is similar. Many players are injured. In the last match (against Barca), we had to forget who was absent. Now, I also ask players to ignore the facts of absent players," he said.

Klopp also fielded many young players. The team with an average age of 25 years and 68 months is the youngest in the last five years.

As a result, the performance of the Liverpool youth forces did not disappoint. Even though it was late in the heat, Liverpool managed to get up after falling behind.

"It turns out, this is a fantastic group of players and looks special. In the second half, we were completely unstoppable," said Klopp.

"I only need a few minutes to compile the composition of the players once I receive information that many players are injured," he said.

"From this match, we also know how to solve the problem. Moreover, players show the performance I expected. I am happy with their performance."

The victory over Luton confirmed Liverpool's position at the top of the 2023/2024 Premier League standings with 60 points. They are four points ahead of defending champions Manchester City.