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Klopp: Liverpool won't defend title, we'll attack the next one

Jurgen Klopp insists that he won't allow his Liverpool side to bask in their Premier League title...
Richie McCormack
Richie McCormack

15.29 1 Jul 2020


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Klopp: Liverpool won't defend...

Klopp: Liverpool won't defend title, we'll attack the next one

Richie McCormack
Richie McCormack

15.29 1 Jul 2020


Share this article


Jurgen Klopp insists that he won't allow his Liverpool side to bask in their Premier League title glory too long. 

The Reds have their first outing as newly-crowned Premier League champions on Thursday night away to the side they deposed - Manchester City.

City's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last week secured Liverpool's 19th title, and their first in 30 years sparking wild celebrations among the squad and in the city.

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Liverpool are likely to receive a guard of honour from City before Thursday night's game, but it's not something taking up much real estate in Klopp's mind.

"We take it, it's a nice gesture, 100 per cent. I wouldn't need it, to be honest, because we go there and want to play a football game and either way we want to win the football game.

"I don't celebrate things what happened a week before or stuff like that. Again, it's a nice gesture but that's it pretty much."

We will not defend the title or whatever next year, we will attack the next one

The German knows that City will be a renewed force next season, and that they won't be alone.

"Yes, City will be strong next season, United will be strong next season, Chelsea will be strong next season. They all will be strong next season – not only the three of them.

"It's just City is an outstanding team, United is in an outstanding shape and Chelsea is in a really good shape and is doing some interesting business.

"Tottenham will not sleep, Arsenal will not sleep, Leicester will be there. There are a lot of teams.

"The thing is, we have to play 38 games during a year and who wins most of them can win the league. That happened now for us for the first time.

"We will not defend the title or whatever next year, we will attack the next one.

"What we achieved last year, in this case last week, is something for the history books. The rest is just hard work.

"We will try to show that tomorrow night. But it's difficult anyway because City is a super team, absolutely super team, and we have to show that."

With City now concentrating on the Champions League and the title in the bag at Anfield, Klopp is still expecting an "intense" game at the Etihad.

"I saw City play now already three times," he told his pre-match press conference.

"I think they have played more often but I saw them playing three times and that looked like how City looks – massively dominant, making the pitch big, using direction, preparing direction, mix up of long balls to prepare the smaller space and the other way around.

"It's football and that's what we want to see from ourselves as well.

"You cannot defend City if you don't play an intense game. I think it's difficult to defend us if you don't play an intense game. So that already makes clear how this game will be.

"I can't see a game where two teams are not active and two teams are waiting for the final whistle. This will be a proper football game, 100 per cent.

"It will always be a proper football game for whatever reason. There's no need for [it] being a final or something else.

"We had one 0-0 [with them] and that would be a really unlikely result, to be honest. We had one but they had to miss a penalty."


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