Atlético-Liverpool: Trippier gives view on Klopp comments
The game may be well over, but the conversation over it does not appear to be, with the rojiblanco defender responding to the Anfield criticism.
The Champions League Last 16 tie between Atlético Madrid and Liverpool gave us plenty to talk about in the sports media. And over a week later, it is still giving, as Kieran Trippier gives his view on the post-match comments of Jürgen Klopp.
Trippier all about winning
The Reds manager, who admitted not being a good loser, had claimed that with so many top stars in his squad, Diego Simeone could set them up to play in a more positive manner. With only 29% possession, and with Liverpool failing to take their chances that could have made it an embarrassing scoreline for the Spanish outfit, it was Simeone’s side that progressed in the UEFA competition at the expense of the holders, ending an impressive Anfield record for Klopp. And their English defender told The Mirror what he thought of the criticism they’d had, not only from the German.
“People have this perception that we’re a defensive side, but I think they’re getting too carried away with the way we played against Liverpool. If you go there and go toe-to-toe with Liverpool, you’re going to get beat 6-0. I don’t know what people expect.
“You need to go there with a plan and we did that"
“You see pundits complaining because we did defend, but did they expect us to go there and play attacking football, especially with Liverpool playing the way that they’re playing at the moment?
“You need to go there with a plan and we did that. We did have to defend, but the most important thing is that we got the win.”
"We knew they would blow up"
Despite Liverpool looking the fresher side, and certainly the more likely to score more as the game went into extra-time, Trippier believes tiredness was a factor.
“We knew they would blow up because of the amount of pressure they’d applied and the amount of energy they’d put into the game. We knew they’d slow down. It took us over 100 minutes, but we won 3-2.
“People can complain as much as they want, but we thought it was necessary for that type of game. As I’ve got older it has stopped bothering me.
“Liverpool didn’t put their chances away and we beat them in both legs. It worked.”