Liverpool boss Klopp - 'We could have scored the third goal much earlier.'
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Liverpool boss Klopp - 'We could have scored the third goal much earlier.'



Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp heaped praise on the “top performance” his Reds put “in a difficult game” against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.


The Merseyside club returned to action after the World Cup with a bang as they secured a 3-1 win over Unai Emery’s Villains at Villa Park.


Goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk gave Liverpool a comfortable first-half lead in the Midlands.


Then Villa striker Ollie Watkins pulled one back for the hosts in the 59th minute but Villa failed to seal a comeback, with Stefan Bajcetic wrapping up the win for Liverpool in the 81st minute.



It was a brilliant showing from Klopp’s boys, who lost 3-2 to Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Thursday.


However, a delighted Klopp asserted the match while speaking to Amazon Prime: "It was a top performance in a difficult game. I think we played exceptionally in the first half.



"Villa had their moments but we were really good. I liked what I saw. We told the boys at half-time where we could do better and the only problem was in the second half we missed the last step all of a sudden.


"Villa were pushing hard, in a home game that's normal, we knew that would happen, and you have to get through those periods. We could have scored the third goal much earlier but it's fine, and I loved the situation around the third goal."


Speaking to BBC's Match of the Day, Klopp said of the performance of Darwin Nunez: "He was top class. He gives us so much. He gives us depth and stretches everything, pretty much. He makes it more difficult to defend against us - it's not just Mo Salah.



Of course, he will score, everyone knows that. [His chance] was like a millimeter from his foot, whether the ball goes in or not, so that's nothing we're worried about. It's really nice that he stays in the game and then sets up the third goal.


"Usually a striker, with the game he had - a good game but not scoring - they take the ball, try to force it and kick it straight into the goalkeeper. But he had the overview to pass to Stefan [Bajcetic] to finish it off in an extremely cool manner."


'It was almost perfect.


Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson added: "It was almost perfect. Away from home, we've not been good enough. We had a big result at Tottenham before the break and it was important for us to back it up. It was an important three points for us.


"The first half couldn't have gone much better for us. We knew they were going to react, be more positive, and get after us. They made it tough [in the second half], we conceded a goal and sometimes you have to dig deep. Today we showed a different side to us where we dug in and then we hurt them on the counter-attack."



When asked about his 54th Premier League assist, a new record for a defender, he said: "We started well, I put a ball across for Darwin [Nunez] and we got a corner. Then Trent [Alexander-Arnold] played an unbelievable ball to me and I saw Mo [Salah] at the far post.



"Full-backs are evolving, it's about going forward as well as defending. I want to defend, first and foremost, but going forward is a big part of your game too.



"I knew I equalled the record with two [assists] before the break and I was focused on trying to get back and beating it. I'm not into individual things but when you do stuff like that against some unbelievable defenders in the Premier League, it's good to put yourselves at the top like that."



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