Klopp says ‘result better than performance’ as Robertson hails ‘different class’ Kelleher

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp saw room for improvement in his side’s 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League.

The visitors are now almost certain to progress to the last eight after their win on Thursday night, but Sparta’s attacking intent caused problems for Liverpool’s backline, and speaking to TNT Sports, Klopp acknowledged the lopsided scoreline did not tell the whole story.

He said: “The result was better than the performance. I think that was obvious. Sparta played a high-risk game. You could see how they were prepared for the counterattack, it was really smart, but high risk, as you see with the scoreline.

“They caused us problems as well and they had their chances. I would say in the first half there was one or two of them, if it would have been a goal it would have been offside but it didn’t get checked.

“Not a fantastic performance but a fantastic result.”

Liverpool lost Joe Gomez to injury midway through the match, and the German manager explained it had altered the way that the team approached the tie.

He added: “The second half started like the first half. We adapted well, we had to keep Joe [Gomez] a bit deeper, a bit more protection. We had to reorganise, we wanted protection. That was not great.

“I was not worried about the result, but you want to play the best possible football, and maybe tonight that was the best possible, who knows? Now we have to recover.

“The goals were exceptional, all the goals were exceptional. We had wonderful chances. That was all fine. Offensively we created, we scored, but it was individual quality, not like team goals.”

Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson also thought Sparta’s tactical approach gave them a problem to solve, but was confident the result would almost certainly see them progress to the next round.

“It was tough, we won 5-1 which was the main aim and puts us in the driving seat next week,” he said.

“The performance could have been better, of course, in certain areas it could have been better. We played into their hands with the counterattacks.

“We had to be in better control of the ball in the first half, and in the start of the second half it was the worst-possible start, but we had to regroup. But 5-1 is a positive result.

“They take a lot of risks with the counterattacks, they leave three players up, we have to be better on the ball to punish that.”

Liverpool had Caoimhin Kelleher to thank for a string of impressive stops, and the Irish goalkeeper has impressed since he stepped in for the injured Brazil international Alisson Becker.

Robertson praised the stand-in, saying: “He’s a different class ‘keeper. With his feet he’s so good, with his hands he made important saves. Unfortunate circumstances for Alisson, but now Caoimhin gets a run in the team, which is good for him.

“You see the confidence he’s playing with, he believes every shot he can save, and that’s what we need, because we know how good Ali is – Ali is the best in the world.

“Now Caoimhin has shown he can play at this level, he can play in the Premier League. He’s been unbelievable since he’s come in and long may that continue.”

He continued: “We lost him for a couple of weeks, but this season he’s been unbelievable. No defender likes coming up against him.

“He can go behind, he can hold the ball up, and now he’s starting to add that composure with finishes.

“He’s had an unbelievable season, he needs to keep going, he needs to keep scoring goals as that’s the only way we’re going to be successful this season. Today, I thought he was excellent.”

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