[ad_1]
Jurgen Klopp had been Liverpool’s manager for almost a month before it was actually announced in the Premier League.
The German had taken over at Anfield following the firing of Brendan Rodgers and despite enjoying an undefeated start to his Reds tenure, fans had yet to see the true effect of his methods on training ground.
Klopp had overseen just one win since taking Liverpool’s hot seat, a close 1-0 victory over Bournemouth in the League Cup, and despite some encouraging performances, he had seen his team draw with Tottenham, Southampton and the Russian team Rubin Kazan. The last two at home.
So when Klopp took his team to Stamford Bridge on Halloween 2015, it was unclear who was in the trick and who would come out with the gift, with champions José Mourinho in the mix.
Chelsea, despite having players like Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, César Azpiliecueta, Willian and Cesc Fabregas, had already been beaten five times in the league and the pressure was beginning to mount on the unusually subdued Mourinho.
It was clear that if Liverpool could implement the pressure tactics that made Klopp so successful in Dortmund, including a famous victory over Mourinho’s Madrid in 2013, the Reds could use the game as a launching pad for the German’s managerial reign. .
But it happened that Klopp was experiencing his own initial problems.
The new Reds manager had been started as Divock Origi in his first four games as manager, with Danny Ings and Daniel Sturridge out with injury, and while the young Belgian forward had impressed with his pressure, he had yet to score for him. club.
Meanwhile, £ 32 million summer contract Christian Benteke had managed to find the back of the net with Klopp in the draw with Southampton, but it was clear Klopp was not convinced that the former Aston Villa player really fit his style of play.
However, a knee injury knocked Origi out of Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea and with Benteke taking a hit, Klopp would stumble upon a tactical shift that would help define Liverpool’s success for years to come.
Roberto Firmino, who had also come in on a big money move in the summer before Klopp got the Reds job, had gotten off to a rocky start at Anfield.
The previous boss, Rodgers, just didn’t know what to do with the Brazilian and struggled both in an open position and playing at No. 10.
But Klopp, who would later express his surprise that Liverpool, outside of the Champions League, had been able to sign a player who had shone in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, was eager to make sure he found the right position for Firmino.
And while most observers felt that Klopp was simply putting a square peg in a round hole when Firmino was named Liverpool’s sole striker at Chelsea, the Reds manager had found the perfect player to implement his style of play.
And in doing so, he helped rekindle the form of another Brazilian and a man who had been Liverpool’s best player for the past year, Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho had struggled to stay fit with Klopp but, with the hard-working and inventive Firmino sinking deep, he was allowed the freedom to tear Chelsea apart.
After a difficult opening in which Ramires addressed the home side ahead, Liverpool took on the game and pressured Chelsea to submit.
Along with the brilliant Adam Lallana, Coutinho was Liverpool’s standout player and was able to combine with captain James Milner and compatriot Firmino to score a brilliant left-footed shot at the edge of the break to level the score.
Energized by a spirited Klopp, Liverpool broke Chelsea in the second half. Substitute Benteke brought more physique to Liverpool’s front row and Coutinho got his second with just over 15 minutes to play.
Benteke added the icing on the cake with a goal of his own five minutes from time.
If the traveler Kop was not convinced of Klopp before the game, he certainly was now and was jubilant when Mourinho, so often Liverpool’s torturer, faced the ax.
The Portuguese had complained vigorously throughout the match, and at one point told the fourth official Lee Mason, “You don’t like talking to me but you like talking to him.”
Mourinho later criticized reporters for failing to criticize referee Mark Clattenburg, but it was a classic case of a reeling manager’s deviation.
His antics would ensure that he, and not Klopp, would dominate the last pages in the days to come.
Does not matter. Mourinho limped in Chelsea before being fired less than two months later. For Klopp, the journey was just beginning.
Liverpool had taken off and Klopp was about to take them on a trip to the stars.
[ad_2]
