Quincy Charles
Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he is unsure about his starting lineup for Liverpool’s Premier League opener this weekend.
Roberto Firmino and Takumi Minamino scored for the Reds in a 3-1 win over Osasuna at Anfield Friday evening, finishing off their pre-season programme.
Several Liverpool players shone once more, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kostas Tsmikas, and Minamino all receiving great praise.
As the new season approaches and competition for starting spots heat up, a couple of fringe players in the squad will be competing for spots.
Klopp is well aware that picking his first team will become more difficult, but insists that “that’s how it should be.”
“That’s what you need and now we have a proper situation and with how it looked tonight, come on, make the line-up for Norwich. Who do you want to leave out after these two games?” questioned the Reds’ boss.
“That’s how it should be, the boys had to put pressure on themselves with the performances they put on the pitch and that’s what you wish for in an ideal world.
“Hopefully they can all stay fit and they can put for the whole season pressure on each other in a very positive way – who wants to play has to play like we did today or in yesterday in moments.
“That’s the football we want to play and that’s the football that made us successful and could potentially make us successful again. We’ll see.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Minamino are poised to benefit from Liverpool’s pre-season since they have been given opportunities to shine.
Klopp went on to say that this is a much-needed lift for both players, who have had their Anfield careers disrupted.
“Look, I know Ox for so long now it was not necessary to talk.
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“It was clear what the thing is – he needed a full pre-season. [The same] for plenty of players. For Taki it was the first pre-season with us properly; it was the first pre-season for a long time with Ox.” He told liverpoolfc.com.
