Liverpool had to ignore the pain, says Klopp

Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool had to battle through the pain barrier to demolish Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool secured a place in the Champions League by completing a 6-3 aggregate win against Hoffenheim on Wednesday and Klopp felt they improved further in a stunning Premier League triumph.

The rampant Reds allowed Arsenal no time or space in possession and the German felt that energy was the key component in their win.

“We were very good, obviously. We’ve learned from each game so far and built on it so it was even better than against Hoffenheim,” Klopp said on Sky Sports.

“There was pressure on the boys and we wanted to show our desire to do something special and the boys did it really well.

“If you give Arsenal time, space and the opportunity to do what they want then you’ve already lost before the game starts. We had to learn to feel the pain in the game but to ignore it. It was clear that it would be hard and we defended really well.”

Klopp: “I saw 11 outstandingly good individual performances.” pic.twitter.com/fkQIJ5N6K9

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 27, 2017

Liverpool were once again without Philippe Coutinho, who has been heavily linked with a switch to Barcelona and reportedly handed in a transfer request after the club’s owners issued a statement insisting no bids would be considered.

The Brazilian has yet to feature competitively this season due to a back injury and Klopp reiterated the stance that he is not for sale.

“After a game like this I’m very confident but it’s not about confidence, it’s about what the owners said. That is the situation. There is no problem like this,” he said.

“He’s not available for us but you can imagine, if he had been part of this game we would not have been worse even though all three midfielders were outstanding.”