Jurgen Klopp said that Liverpool “want to give it a proper go” this season, and he saw signs that the his side are “a step further in the right direction” after a draw against Chelsea.
The Reds’ last campaign saw them take a step in the wrong direction. In the six seasons prior, they’d not failed to finish in the top four, winning the title and finishing second in that time.
Last term, they finished fifth, and could have been much worse off after a poor first few months of the season. This time around, they’ll want to get back to the heights they know they’re capable of reaching.
Klopp feels the signs of that happening are good after a promising first performance.
“In moments. The start was really good, both directions, offensively and defensively. We scored a super first goal, scored a sensational second goal that was unfortunately offside,” he told BBC Match of the Day.
“If you ask me if I was completely happy with the game then no but I saw enough that we are a step further in the right direction.
“We had our moments, it was a super intense game, a wild game in moments. We should have controlled it more but couldn’t and now we keep working.”
The manager then set out his ambitions for the season, in an attempt to make up for last campaign.
“I am really happy, pre-season was good, I liked it a lot. We are still here and going, and we want to give it a proper go, that is the idea behind all of this,” he said.
Klopp hooked star player Mohamed Salah – who had earlier played an inch-perfect pass to assist Luis Diaz for the Liverpool goal – in the 77th minute to bring on Harvey Elliott, and the winger was visibly displeased.
Klopp had no problem with Salah’s reaction, and felt it would have been strange had he not been annoyed at being taken off at that stage of the game, but he needed to freshen things up.
“We needed stability and we needed fresh legs. It was super intense for everybody,” Klopp added.
“That’s all I can say about it, his reaction was absolutely okay. When I sub a player and he is jumping in to my arms at 1-1 and he is a striker who thinks he will score, I would be really surprised, so that’s absolutely fine.”
A big talking point at the moment is Liverpool’s signing, or not, of Moises Caicedo. Klopp stated he has “no news at all” on whether or not he will sign, after apparently opting for Chelsea instead.
