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Mignolet: Liverpool harder to stop now than with Suarez

SoccerNews in La Liga 26 Feb 2017

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Simon Mignolet believes Liverpool are a more dangerous proposition now than when Luis Suarez was still at Anfield.

The Belgian goalkeeper’s first season since joining from Sunderland saw the Reds fall agonisingly short of their first Premier League title triumph, with Brendan Rodgers’ side ultimately finishing two points behind champions Manchester City.

Suarez was the inspiration behind that title charge, the Uruguay international registering 31 goals and 21 assists in 33 league appearances in his final campaign for the club before he joined Barcelona in a reported €82million deal.

Mignolet, however, believes Liverpool are stronger under Jurgen Klopp as they no longer rely on the individual brilliance of one star player.

“We’ve got 25 players in the dressing room but in the end there are only 11 who can play, so there are always going to be a few guys disappointed each weekend,” he said.

“We are fighting for the same objective, though, and I think that is our strength this season: we perform as a team.

“When I first came here it was more about certain individuals, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were scoring all the goals and Steven Gerrard was still playing. Now the danger comes from the strength and unity of the squad.

“We are all pressing together and relying on each other to defend, rather than hoping someone will score us a goal at the other end of the pitch.

“Back in the day, if you could stop Luis, you had a chance against Liverpool but now you have to face a whole team playing for each other and I guess that’s a lot harder.”

Liverpool’s promising season appeared to have derailed at the beginning of 2017, as a run of one win in 10 matches saw them exit the FA Cup and the EFL Cup and placed their top-four hopes under threat.

A 2-0 victory over Tottenham on February 11 eased some of those concerns, though, and they head into Monday’s meeting with champions Leicester City just three points behind second-place Manchester City.

“Momentum is an amazing thing when it is working in your favour,” Mignolet said. “We had it in my first season at Liverpool, when we challenged for the title.

“You get a good win, you take extra confidence into the next game and it shows in the result. You end up with a snowball effect. You are in a rhythm where everything is going well.

“But, if you start losing games, one thing can lead to another in a bad way and, if you begin to believe nothing is going for you, it can be dangerous.

“Some sort of mental aspect takes over then, where you are thinking about everything instead of playing naturally and as soon as anything goes wrong you start saying: ‘Oh no, not again,'”.

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