Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp Embraces Increased Competition Up Front
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is embracing the increased competition for places up front, as his five forwards have contributed 30 goals so far this season. Mohamed Salah, with 10 goals, is the only guaranteed starter every week, but the other four forwards – Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz – have all made an impact when they have been selected.
Klopp believes his “smart” players understand and embrace the increased competition, and that they all gel well together. He said: “The boys are all smart. The good thing is we have really only smart players, that means they understand they cannot play all the games. It’s not, ‘I want to play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday.’ That’s just not possible but everybody sees (it that way) as well. That’s how a smart footballer should think and our boys do that: ‘If I can’t play then it’s better we have another really good player who can play the position’. That’s exactly how I see it.”
Cody Gakpo: The Unsung Hero
Of all their front five, Cody Gakpo is probably the unsung hero. The Netherlands international has scored on his last four starts, netting the first goal in three of those, but has been the player sacrificed the most to accommodate holes in the squad as he started the campaign in midfield. Klopp said: “If we have everybody available it was never the plan to put Cody there but it was for him something new after (playing) the false nine last year. But he’s a super-smart player so he can adapt to that and we want him to adapt. He’s just a versatile striker, he can play everywhere up front there. For us it’s super-important. He arrives in the box, he is a good shooter, he has a good nose for the situation. How I said, the boys up front all like each other, there’s not this battle of ‘Will I start?’ They know they can all play together.”
Liverpool Looking for Their First Clean Sheet Away from Anfield
Liverpool head to Luton on Sunday looking for their first clean sheet away from Anfield in any competition this season but are on six-match unbeaten run, winning the last four. As it stands they are in a four-way race for the title but Klopp is keen not to get too excited about how well they have started. He said: “It’s so early. I’m so happy that we have a really good team together but look at the other teams, they are really good as well. A lot of really good teams are out there and it’s the Premier League so it’s not about celebrating the moment and being relieved that we kind of can play football again. No, it’s really about digging into the season, use the full potential of this group, get everything out of it and then let’s see.”
Klopp and his team of smart players understand that increased competition for places up front is essential if Liverpool are to be successful this season. With Cody Gakpo leading the charge, Liverpool are in a strong position to challenge for the title and make their mark in the Premier League this season.