LONDON • Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has hailed the influence of new manager Juergen Klopp as the Reds seek to maintain their unbeaten run under the German against Crystal Palace in the Premier League tomorrow.
Mignolet kept another clean sheet and Jordan Ibe scored to hand Liverpool a crucial 1-0 victory over Rubin Kazan in the Europa League on Thursday. And the Belgium international credited the manager for Liverpool's first win away in Europe in three years.
It was also the Reds' third straight win under Klopp, following three successive draws.
"He has given the lads a lot of confidence and everyone knows what their job is - he is clear with his message," Mignolet told Uefa.com after the victory that left Liverpool second in Group B, two points behind Swiss side Sion.
"Everyone is organised, everyone knows what they have to do and we don't give anything away."
Klopp made just four changes to the side who claimed champions Chelsea's scalp in the Premier League, with two of them - Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho - enforced due to niggling injuries.
Liverpool took 23 shots - six of which found the target - and Klopp believes his men can only go from strength to strength as they spend more time together.
"I only make the teams to win the next game, not to give a player rest if he doesn't need it," he said.
"We changed some things to create more and I'm really satisfied how we did it.
"We are four weeks together and have more experience together."
Liverpool - eighth in the Premier League on 17 points - might be able to better judge how far they have come against Palace. Tomorrow's visitors to Anfield did the double over Brendan Rodgers' men last season, winning both games 3-1.
Six different scorers netted for the Eagles then. But 10th-placed Palace have failed to score in their last two league games, and no team in the top 10 have netted fewer times than them this term (12).
In fact, their strikers have yet to score a league goal this season.
"Of course it's a concern that no striker has scored in the league. It's not a great statistic to have and it's something we have to put right," Palace assistant manager Keith Millen told the Croydon Advertiser.
"We do a lot in training; a lot of finishing work. The pleasing thing is that we are creating chances, we would be more concerned if we weren't doing that.
"But we do need to finish them, and it's not just the forwards, it's the wide men, the midfielders. They have to chip in."
LIVERPOOL v CRYSTAL PALACE
Singtel TV Ch103 & StarHub Ch228, tomorrow, 11.55pm
