Klopp urges Liverpool to concede less and be a 'well-balanced team'
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LONDON • Liverpool are right in the title hunt and have scored an English Premier League-leading 35 goals in 12 games this season.
But if the Reds are to wrest back the title they conceded to Manchester City last season, Jurgen Klopp wants his players to sharpen up at the back.
Yesterday, he stressed the need to concede fewer goals to stay in the title race and strike a better balance between attack and defence.
"It's not a crazy number (11 goals conceded) for a team around the top of the table but we concede too many, that's why we need to be a well-balanced team," Klopp said.
The German will see his side host Southampton today, with the Saints in good form, having won three of their last five games in the league to move into 13th with 14 points from 12 games.
Klopp knows his Southampton counterpart Ralph Hasenhuttl well, as the former RB Leipzig manager had been coaching in Germany since 2007.
"Ralph Hasenhuttl is obviously doing well, building a proper team for each game and especially when they expect not to have the majority of possession," he said.
"They are really well organised, I have to say. Very well-drilled team and you have to be creative to break them down.
"They don't concede a lot of goals, a lot of shots on target. So, that's one of the issues we have to find solutions for."
Klopp and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel are the two most high-profile Germans working in England but there will soon be another joining them.
Ralf Rangnick is said to have inspired the duo with his gegenpressing philosophy and the wily coach is set to become Manchester United's interim manager.
On the imminent appointment of Rangnick, Klopp hailed the "incredible" job at all the clubs he had led in Germany, including Schalke, Hoffenheim and Leipzig, adding: "It's a bit tricky, we usually don't talk until they are confirmed.
"It's obviously a really experienced manager. Unfortunately, a good coach is coming to England and Man United. He famously built two clubs from nowhere. United will be organised, which is not good news."
Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliot and Curtis Jones are injured, while Stuart Armstrong and Jack Stephens are doubts for today.
REUTERS
