Klopp Talk: We Are Still In Process

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Liverpool came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and stay 2nd in the table. 

Liverpool struck late to earn a hard-fought draw against Manchester City, escaping the Etihad Stadium with a 1-1 draw.

A cagey and largely even first half broke open after a mistake from Alisson resulted in Erling Haaland breaking the deadlock to slot home a league-leading 14th goal. The hosts could not capitalize on that early advantage however, with the Reds staying in touch until Trent Alexander-Arnold punched home a brilliant second half equalizer with 10 minutes to go to earn his side a share of the points.

It was likely the fair result in an edgy affair between what are still England’s two preeminent sides. In another twist to the rivalry, cameras caught Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez exchanging terse words with City manager Pep Guardiola at the final whistle, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp needing to physically remove his striker from the fray.

“It’s a really good moment,” Klopp said of result in his post-match interview. “[The Etihad is] a tough place to come. It’s no coincidence that they win that many home games, you really have to be prepared to suffer.

“We are still in the process. If we had played really good today we could have won. We didn’t, we played okay.

“The point is absolutely okay. That they have gone so long without allowing anyone to even draw, we can take that as a success [today].”

The draw maintained the status quo in the league table ahead of the rest of the matchday fixtures, with Liverpool remaining a point behind City in the top two places.

The result did come at a cost, however, as Alisson, who had already endured a difficult afternoon, appeared to pull a hamstring while clearing a ball in injury time; while Diogo Jota also came off in the second half with a complaint.

“The shadow on this game is obviously that Ali felt something and Diogo felt something—something we have to assess and then we will see,” Klopp cautioned in his post-match conference.

“I hope it’s not that serious, but I don’t have the answer—no clue in the moment what it is. I spoke to him and he said he only felt [it] a little bit, but we have to wait for the scan.”

Reds supporters will be hoping for good injury news that can help maintain the season’s title challenge.