Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says that his team was well prepared to defend as a whole against Arsenal’s “incredible threat” in attack.
The Reds’ defence managed very well against the pacy frontline of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe at Anfield on Saturday evening.
Goals from Joel Matip and Mohamed Salah (2) gave Liverpool a vital 3-1 win over The Gunners with Lucas Torreira’s late strike proving to be just a consolation for Unai Emery’s side.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the game, Klopp said:
“It was all around a really good performance and Joel, for sure it was his best game of the season.
“People spoke about our defending. We work on our defending but not in the way people probably expected. It’s not about the last line; it’s a common thing, defending in the Premier League doesn’t work if you talk to [each individual player] and tell him, ‘We have to do this and that differently.’
“We worked really hard now on that, of course, like we always do but this week we had the time to do it. From a defending point of view, it was for sure the best game, against an incredible threat.
“One chip in behind, like the chance [for Pepe in the first half] was pretty much – it was not even a good pass, Hendo missed the ball – then they had the big chance and we needed Adrian to save us, very good again.
“But apart from that, we really defended really well. The goal happened when everybody was in the box, that’s nothing to do with defending. As we say in Germany, it was ‘I have him, you can take him’ but at the end nobody has the guy.
“I’m really overly happy.”
The 3-1 win means Liverpool is now the only team in the Premier League still with a 100% record after just three games of the season.
Saturday’s victory also saw Klopp’s side make a new club record of 12 league victories in a row.
Next up for The Reds is a tricky trip to face Sean Dyche’s Burnley men on Saturday at Turf Moor.
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