The 2-0 victory over Napoli was quite surprising even though Liverpool played at home. Surprised by the Reds' quick run for the match early this morning, they just lost to Leeds and before that Nottingham. Before that, the English team also lost 1-4 to Napoli in the first leg of the group stage in Italy.
The win over Napoli was the 244th win in Jurgen Klopp's 400th spell at Liverpool, helping The Kop break the opponent's unbeaten streak of 21 consecutive matches. In the history of the team, no strategist has had a similar winning rate in 400 matches, so Klopp has the right to be proud and think more positively about the upcoming journey.
"That is the attitude (of the players) I want to see when they face a strong opponent. Liverpool dared to face the challenge and showed great determination" - Klopp shared after the match.
One of Liverpool's notable highlights in this match was the return of Ibrahima Konate. The French centre-back has returned from injury, paired with Virgil van Dijk to create a solid shield for Alisson Becker. The reason Liverpool dares to return to their strong style of play is because Klopp is confident that this central defender pair can counter Napoli's stormy attack. In the end, that came true when Konate and Van Dijk locked down the visitors' Victor Osimhen.
After 8 matches with a 4-4-2 formation since the first leg of the Champions League group stage against Rangers, Liverpool have returned to be themselves. Klopp said that the factors he has had have never been completely favorable to serve the 4-4-2 formation, simply the team needs to change a little to temporarily adapt to new defensive methods. Although he still plays 4 defenders in both formats, Klopp said that there is still a huge difference in the defensive organization.
The late goals of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez give Klopp more confidence, from now on, his team can return to the old style. Quality quarterbacks, combined with the transformation of wingers, help the speed of the balls increase. Once the number of personnel is back, Liverpool will be as dangerous as before.
"I have played in this formation for 5-6 years now, so I felt it was the most suitable thing. I'm not the coach, he's the one who decides tactically and as a player, you have to follow him" - Salah shared on the day he equalized Steven Gerrard's European goalscoring record (41).
After a few experimental matches, Klopp finally discovered that Curtis Jones could play as a left winger in place of Luis Diaz. Jones's novelty in playing style has painted many other tactical calculations for Klopp and also partly played an attractive role for Nunez to have more space in the penalty area. The Uruguayan striker's entry and scoring is a positive sign for Klopp as he is gradually seeing his confidence return in Nunez, thereby having more options for the nail dance match against Tottenham this weekend.
