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Jurgen Klopp has dismissed suggestions that he was unhappy with FC Midtjylland’s approach as he hailed Liverpool’s “fight” for the Champions League victory.
A goal from Diogo Jota and substitute Mohamed Salah’s injury time penalty ensured a 2-0 hard-won win at Anfield on Tuesday to put the Reds two points clear at the top of Group D.
Midtjylland proved to be a physical opponent, especially during a first half in which he got three cautions.
Klopp was particularly upset by a late Jens-Lys Cajuste challenge on Jordan Henderson that led to an exchange of words with visiting boss Brian Priske.
But the Reds boss had nothing but praise for the Danish side when asked if he was less than satisfied with some of their tactics.
“No, not at all,” Klopp said. “What Midtjylland did tonight was absolutely brilliant. I loved.
“I am obsessed with organization, and how they filled the game with life and caused us problems, it earns all my respect.
“In that situation (the Henderson tackle), the discussion at the time was that it was a foul.
“Maybe my colleague was already celebrating the situation (from the pressure from Midtjylland) and didn’t see that it was a foul. There was nothing else.
Want more reaction, including Jurgen Klopp’s press conference, check out the post-game podcast HERE
“They were not exaggerated, they were tough, that’s how football is. It was just a foul (on Henderson) and that’s why I said what I said. Nothing to worry anyone.
“I think Midtjylland wanted to prove something tonight and they did. They were a really uncomfortable opponent. “
Klopp also bounced back from accusations of showing no respect for Midtjylland after he made four changes to his starting lineup, including benching the established three forwards.
“If you look at Liverpool and our situation, you would know that it is not a sign of disrespect for Midtjylland,” he said.
“The lineup we chose was to show them the respect we have for them because we desperately needed fresh legs. We needed every new section we could get with the five possible substitutions. “
And about the game, Klopp added: “It was really difficult, they pushed like crazy and played a frantic game and we couldn’t calm him down in the decisive moments.
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“In terms of individual performances, Div hadn’t played in a while and he did absolutely well, Shaq did 90 minutes absolutely really amazing, and Taki was very upbeat but he wasn’t exactly in the game.
“It is like in a marriage. In the less good times, you have to stick together.
“We just had to fight and that’s what we did.”
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