When Chelsea visits Anfield on Wednesday to play in the Premier League, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has pleaded with Reds fans to “ignore” his impending departure from the team.
Following Sunday’s 5-2 FA Cup thumping of Norwich City—the Reds’ first game since he dropped the shocking news that he would be leaving his position at the end of the season—the German made the revelation.
During his season, Klopp intended to go on as normal, but as he walked from the tunnel on Sunday, the Anfield supporters unavoidably serenaded him. Klopp made this clear in a candid interview with the Liverpool media.
You’ll Never Walk Alone erupted across Anfield, sending a grin down the faces of Klopp and his outgoing assistants, Pep Lijnders, Peter Krawietz, and Vitor Matos. However, the Reds’ offensive prowess soon overpowered their championship opponents.
Longtime Klopp buddy David Wagner saw his Norwich team frighten Liverpool once or twice via Carlos Sainz and Ben Gibson, but Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, and Diogo Jota all managed to get past the Canaries defence.
Liverpool’s reward will be a fifth-round match against either Watford or Southampton. Klopp has acknowledged that he had to “pull himself together” during a highly charged afternoon, but the 56-year-old is hoping that supporters won’t notice he’s leaving while his team plays Chelsea in midweek.
“It is [emotional], but my job is to… OK, it’s not always easy, but I have to pull myself together, and I received all the messages the people sent. I’m not made of wood, so I get all of these,” Klopp said in his press conference after the match.
“I recently told people, ‘Don’t sing the song during the game.’ It’s nice that people have already stopped listening to me! It’s the first game after that, and I’m not here to provide advice. However, it’s okay since we won the game and scored after that, so the reason for being superstitious has been addressed, and it was a terrific game.
“The only thing is that we have another game on Wednesday. It would be fantastic if we could then ignore the fact that the manager is leaving at the end of the season for ninety-five or one hundred minutes and just try to make things as difficult as possible for Chelsea.” Furthermore, I’m sure that everyone is aware of this, so I really don’t need to state it. However, the whole day was fantastic.”
Two of the Reds’ academy talents took centre stage on Sunday, as well as five of Liverpool’s most renowned players, creating waves on the internet. In yet another impressive performance, right-back Conor Bradley set up assists for Nunez and Gravenberch.
James McConnell, 19, was named to the starting lineup for the first time for Liverpool, and in the sixteenth minute, the youthful midfielder sent in a precise cross for Jones to head home the game’s first goal.
Because Alexis Mac Allister missed the Canaries’ visit owing to an injury, McConnell was given the chance. However, Klopp expects the Argentine to be well for the Blues’ visit.
“Alexis, I would say [if it was the] last game of the season, decider or whatever, he could have played, but in all games not,” Klopp said.
He sensed a little discomfort, so we just answered, “No, no, and I don’t want to know more,” and that was that. We allowed him to relax. I believe he needs to be prepared for Wednesday.”
Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all made their maiden appearances off the bench for the game, despite Mac Allister not being deemed fit to play.
