Jurgen Klopp spoke of pride in his players and hailed the Anfield atmosphere after Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Chelsea.
Maurizio Sarri’s men had succeeded in frustrating their hosts in a hard-fought first half on Sunday afternoon, but were undone early in the second period as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah struck in quick succession.
Those goals proved enough to earn the Reds three points that saw them leapfrog title rivals Manchester City having played a game more.
And Klopp could not have been more happy with the manner of the performance, particularly given the pressure his team were deemed to be under.
“The biggest challenge for us is always facing the world outside, you and other people. We don’t think like that. We play our game,” he said.
“If City lose today, and we find out five minutes before the game, somebody tells us ‘City lost!’ but that’s not a help. You lose your focus then.
In Pictures | Liverpool vs Chelsea | 14/04/19
“We only try to collect as many points as possible. What is it now, 85? Four games to play. 97. Let’s try. And if that’s enough, then perfect. If not, we cannot change it. And we didn’t lose it here or there or whatever.
“Very smart people will come out and say ‘yeah, if you would have won against Leicester you would be champions’. It’s all bull****. People and idiots bring something like this up.
“By the way, on this point, we can finally close the slipping book. Robbo slipped and nothing happened, so it’s not a Liverpool thing. Done.
“I’m so proud of what the boys did today. I loved, loved, loved the atmosphere, it was outstanding. Let us try and do that seven more times and see what we get for it.”
The only downside to the game from the hosts’ perspective was the loss of Jordan Henderson to an ankle injury late in the second half.
However, Klopp offered a positive update on his captain, who was only withdrawn as a precaution.
He added: “A knock on his ankle. That’s all. He was fine after the game, not in pain. No problem, didn’t twist. Painful, but not a problem.”
