Liverpool inflicted a 5-1 defeat on Sparta Prague within the first leg of their Europa League tie, and dressing room footage exhibits how Jurgen Klopp‘s crew choice was seen as a present of “respect.”
The Reds host the second leg of their final 16 tie on Thursday night with a wholesome four-goal benefit, although Klopp might not have the ability to rotate as closely as he would really like regardless of the scoreline.
With a protracted damage listing nonetheless to think about and UEFA squad guidelines, a number of senior gamers will probably be concerned, identical to they had been within the Czech Republic final week.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah had been the notable absentees from the beginning lineup within the first leg, and Sparta supervisor Brian Priske took satisfaction in Klopp naming a robust crew.
In Sparta’s model of ‘Inside Anfield’, if you’ll, Priske is filmed giving his crew speak within the dressing room, and it makes for fairly enlightening viewing.
He stated to his crew: “No Salah and no Van Dijk, the remainder is sweet high quality. I see respect, respect for you guys for the lineup they convey.
“It’s respect and credit score to you guys, they got here right here to combat and to play. And so they take this f***ing sh*t critically, I feel it’s a credit score to us and also you guys.
“Regardless of what they put out, I wish to see you guys play our soccer. Have the braveness to play, the construction to play – you recognize precisely how we wish to play.
“I wish to see you guys play soccer as a result of they may include pace, depth that you just most likely by no means confronted earlier than, so your choices should be higher in each side.”
It’s not one thing we’re more likely to see in Liverpool’s new documentary collection, however it’s an attention-grabbing perception into how a crew builds themselves as much as face the Reds.
And Priske’s aspect definitely did what he requested by sticking to their ideas towards the Reds, although the scoreline was not solely reflective of how the primary leg performed out.
You may guess they may look to do the identical at Anfield towards what’s going to anticipated to be a robust however rotated Liverpool.
