Jurgen Klopp has this evening suggested that Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea should see talk surrounding Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip versus the Blues in 2014 come to a close.
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
The Reds welcomed Maurizio Sarri’s men to Anfield earlier today, for a crunch Premier League matchup.
The fixture marked a crucial one in the race for both the English top-flight title, and a spot in next season’s Champions League.
Manchester City’s victory over Crystal Palace this afternoon had seen the Citizens leapfrog Liverpool back to the summit of the Premier League table, while Tottenham’s win versus Huddersfield yesterday saw Mauricio Pochettino’s men climb above Chelsea into 3rd.
Moussa Sissoko passes the ball during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
As such, ahead of kick-off on Merseyside, both sides were absolutely desperate to secure all 3 points.
And, when the 90 minutes were said and done this evening, it was hosts Liverpool who emerged victorious.
On the back a tightly-contested first-half, during which clear-cut chances were few and far between, Sadio Mane got on the end of a dinked Jordan Henderson delivery to the back-post to open the game’s shortly after the interval.
And Mohamed Salah rounded out the day’s scoring just 2 minutes later, cutting inside from the right to unleash an unstoppable drive beyond Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa from 25 yards.
Think it’s fair to say Jurgen Klopp is buzzing with that result.
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‘Close the slipping book’
While Liverpool, in the end, kept a clean sheet, their victory was not without its nervy moments, with Eden Hazard having missed a gilt-edged pair of second-half opportunities, one of which came back off the upright.
Another Chelsea breakaway in the game’s closing stages, meanwhile, came on the back of an Andrew Robertson slip near the halfway-line, with the Scot’s heart-in-the-mouth moment having inevitably been likened to Steven Gerrard’s infamous loss of footing in the same fixture 5 years ago.
As such, Jurgen Klopp was unsurprisingly questioned on the incident during a post-match press conference this evening.
However, with Chelsea having failed to capitalize on the situation this time around, the German tactician revealed his opinion that ‘the slipping book’ should now be definitively closed:
‘By the way, on this point, we can finally close the slipping book. Robbo slipped and nothing happened. So it’s not a Liverpool thing. Done.’
Quotes via Goal
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