Following Liverpool’s 6-1 thrashing of Leeds in Monday’s Premier League match, Jurgen Klopp praised his team’s “best game in a long time.”
At Elland Road, two players—Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota—each scored a hat trick after Cody Gakpo’s opening goal and Darwin Nunez’s late goal.
With a game remaining against fifth-place Tottenham, the win brought an end to Liverpool’s five-game losing streak in all competitions and brought Klopp’s team closer to the six-point threshold needed to qualify for the Europa League.
The Liverpool manager pinpointed his side’s intensity as a key factor in arresting their previously poor form.
“I think it’s the best game we’ve played this season from all different perspectives and aspects of the game,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“I think we forced a lot of errors, but it was a really good game, sensational goals and counter-pressing – it was the best game for a long time.
“My favourite part was in the 92nd minute we chased the poor boy on the ball from Leeds. I am really happy with that game.”
Klopp elaborated further as he suggested Liverpool have started to click, with a pivotal moment in their season coming after fighting back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Arsenal on April 9 at Anfield.
He added: “It’s a general thing. To play good football you need stability, the stability you only get from defending, but when you are in this kind of negative flow then you make wrong decisions.
“You think to play better you have to be foremost concerned with the offensive stuff. We can be super offensive-orientated, if we react in the right moment.
“I can’t explain why our counter-pressing didn’t work, but tonight it clicked. It clicked in the second half against Arsenal.
“Tonight I’m not sure how many goals we scored after we won the ball back – that makes all the difference and I think we know that.
“But there is always a bit of difference from knowing and understanding and really feeling it.”
16 – Leeds have conceded 16 goals in their four Premier League games in April this year, eight more than any other side, and one more than they shipped in January, February and March combined (15 in 11 games). Foolish. pic.twitter.com/hwvwIiB3J1
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 17, 2023
Liverpool are nine points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United and an unlikely Champions League qualification, with Klopp acknowledging a top-four push may be out of the Reds’ reach.
“Where we end up I don’t know, but it will go on after the season, so we need all the games to understand,” he continued.
“The games are super important. If we can’t get anything this season, then we have to build on good performances from this last part of the season.
“I have no clue if we can get close, but I don’t think it’s too important. I would like to see us with the same desire, the same passion, the same understanding that we showed tonight.”