Unsurprisingly, Klopp was the big pre-game focus after his decision to resign at the end of the campaign, and while he had earlier asked not to have to answer questions about it before matches, it was inevitable he’d have to do so before the first game after his decision became public.
There’s some poignancy too, perhaps, in that game being against one of his best friends in David Wagner, now bbboss.
While the boss insisted there was nothing different from himself in terms of preparation or emotions, he understood that might not be the case for the fans, still reeling from the news a day earlier.
Predictably, there were big songs right from kick-off for the boss, support from the crowd for his service rather than upset at his impending exit, and as Klopp would have wanted, it was full focus and support on the match and the task at hand: getting through to the FA Cup fifth round.
Full time, though, provided the most emotional moments as all four sides of Anfield serenaded Klopp with a long rendition of ‘I’m so glad’ right until the boss left the pitch.
A fourth senior appearance for Liverpool was a significant one for James McConnell: the first time the teenager had started a game and by far his longest time on a pitch so far, having only made cameos beforehand with a 15-minute showing his previous best in that regard.
And it could hardly have started much better: just a quarter of an hour in he fizzed a lovely curling ball to the far post, over the defender’s head and right onto Curtis Jones‘ head, the resulting nod giving the Reds the lead and McConnell a first assist.
In terms of general midfield play he was cool and regularly able to make the right pass, keeping tempo up and he tea on the front foot. Perhaps he should have been booked and late cramp is a disappointment of course.
It’s no wonder Klopp later assessed his game as “super.”
As far as youngsters go though, McConnell was upstaged by Conor Bradley, who delivered a brilliant showing from right-back.
He has gone from strength to strength over his run in the team recently and here assisted Darwin Nunez‘s goal, should have had another for Cody Gakpo a few minutes later, did get one for Gravenberch near the end and deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award.
Since October, the left-back spot has been a rotating cast of sticking plasters, making do and…well, in truth, sensational performances. Andy Robertson‘s initial injury gave Reds fans cause for concern, but Kostas Tsimikas had a few good outings – until picking up an injury of his own.
And so Joe Gomez has been filling in, brilliantly for the most part, but as we head back into a busy part of the season with massive matches ahead, it’s important to have both options and quality available once more.
As such, Robertson’s first game back is an important milestone, off the bench for just over half an hour here and making plenty of his trademark overlapping runs.
So too came on with him Dominik Szoboszlai, immediately assisting fellow sub Virgil van Dijk from a corner, with Trent Alexander-Arnold following them a few minutes later.
It’s less time out for the latter two, both injured at the start of the year, but perhaps the enforced month or so on the sidelines actually came at a great time: not the very most taxing of fixtures, a slight break in between too to reduce the number they missed.
With Chelsea and Arsenal up next and the final on the horizon, that won’t be the case for long so getting minutes in the legs is a vital step back to the team being at its best.
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