Jurgen Klopp is one proud manager having witnessed his squad navigate a “really tough period” without hardly putting a foot wrong, despite the team being decimated by injuries.
It has been an intense period for Liverpool, playing six games in 19 days, all the while the injury list remains in double figures.
Klopp has asked a lot of those available to him – for example, no player played more than Harvey Elliott (544) in the abovementioned run, having started all six games.
You then look at the club’s other youngsters – can be hard to forget Elliott is still only 20! – who have risen to the occasion, and it has made for quite the run of games and results.
It’s a period that Klopp reflects on with pride, and his programme notes ahead of Sparta Prague’s visit make for brilliant reading, here are his words:
“After tonight we have only one more game before the international break and I could not be more proud of how the players have handled a really, really tough period.
“There have been so many challenges, so many tests and also some problems so to come through it the way they have is really special.
“Sunday’s fixture against Manchester City was another example of this. I said afterwards that we need the injured players back as soon as possible and, of course, this could not be more true.
“But at the same time, we dealt with a really tricky situation really well. City are, in my opinion, the best team in the world, so to play the way we did against them, in the second half especially, could not have made me more proud.
“We did not quite manage to get the result that we wanted but we did show from a performance point of view we are definitely ready to stay in the race until the end of the season.
“That is all you can ever ask for in mid-March. We are still a couple of months away from some of the big prizes being handed out so there is no need to focus on what the season may or may not bring, we just need to keep on going.
“If we can do this then we will see where it takes us. To have won one competition already and still be involved in three others is a big positive but the lessons of why we are in the situation we are in have to keep on serving us well.
“This means working hard every single day, not looking too far ahead, sticking together on and off the pitch and believing in one another.
“There are never any secrets. The basics are basics for a reason so it makes sense that we should stick with them.
“I am sure the supporters are excited and I would be disappointed if you were not because this is what it is all about but for the team and myself it is all about the next game and tonight that means taking on Sparta Prague. Hopefully we will give a good account of ourselves again.”
A quarter-final on the line in the Europa League before a shot at a place in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, not to mention the league – what a time it is to be a Red!
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