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Klopp pleased with LFC youngsters, despite replay

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Jurgen was pleased with his youngster efforts, despite mistakes and the replay

Jurgen was pleased with his youngster efforts, despite mistakes and the replay

The Reds came through last night’s FA Cup third round tie at Exeter with a replay; something that, based on the average age of the team, and the fact that the majority of first-teamers in the side were largely very poor, was not an entirely terrible result.

Liverpool will now face another game in January, with the replay occurring at Anfield at the end of January. Something that should swing the advantage in Liverpool’s favour, despite whatever team Jurgen is able to field.

The Reds sent out a team full of youngsters, many making their first team debuts, and just Jose Enrique, Adam Bogdan and Christian Benteke for senior support. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was the senior players that came in for most criticism from fans.

But Klopp was keen to reiterate that it was a difficult situation from the start and, while unwelcome, the replay was a fairly decent outcome, considering the enormous inexperience of the side he sent out.

He told his post-match press-conference (via Liverpoolfc.com): “It smelt and tasted like cup games do – the first round is always very difficult, in our situation especially.

“We tried to create a line-up under time pressure – [some loan players] came back yesterday and we trained together yesterday and this morning for around 40 minutes.

“We tried to create a common plan and idea. It was not too good, it was not too bad, but it showed that in football it’s very important you work together and train together and we couldn’t do that with this team.

“You saw in a lot of moments that Exeter did really well and we didn’t defend it too well, we lost a lot of one-on-one situations. The pitch was difficult for both teams and it was not too easy for the young boys. In an atmosphere like this, there were legs getting tired and so on. It was good to strike back and we had a few more moments, but not enough in the end.

“We have to respect our situation and that’s what we did. We were here to go through to the next round. It didn’t work out 100 per cent – 50 per cent – so now we have another game at Anfield.

“It is like it is…and I can’t believe we have another game!”

Youngsters Jerome Sinclair and Brad Smith grabbed Liverpool’s goals, and both could potentially feature in the replay, whilst Klopp was keen to ensure no pressure was placed on his young players following the draw.

He continued: “Yes, of course we deserved a replay. These players worked and tried what they could tonight.

“If they made mistakes, it’s my responsibility. If they were not good in one-on-one, it is the responsibility of all the coaches of Liverpool FC. If they were not good in headers, it is the responsibility of all coaches of Liverpool FC – not the players.

“We picked them and said, ‘Come on, help us in this moment’. They did, 2-2, we go home, now the next game.

“[They didn’t play] as good as they can, but it was good enough for a draw.”

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

1 comment

  • David says:

    I hope Jurgen doesn’t let up with his pressing style due to the injuries . Players were simply not fit enough when he took over thanks to Brendan . Spurs run more than us or anyone in the premier league and I don’t see their players dropping like flies . He is right not to talk about transfers and publicly saying players are not good enough . They are what he has for now so just get the best out of the crap he has is his moto, which means try and keep the confident . We need a whole new midfield and a good striker plus central defender plus goalie . Regardless of what Klopp says to the media guarantee he changes everything by next season !

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