Liverpool cannot waste points in another tough season, says Klopp
Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool occupy the top three places in the league after the opening four games, with champion Manchester City in fifth.
Published : Sep 17, 2021 18:56 IST
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is not surprised by the fine starts of its Premier League rivals and said on Friday that dropping points was not an option in another fiercely competitive season.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool occupy the top three places in the league after the opening four games, with champion Manchester City in fifth.
"I am not too much in the other teams' situations, but it's a good start for us," Klopp said in the build-up to Liverpool's game against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
"We've played some good football but if you want to be around the really top spots you have to, and you cannot waste points. That's how it is. We just keep going. I'm not surprised by other teams' results."
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Liverpool will rotate its squad for what will be its third game in a week, with Klopp saying that his players had done well to come through a gruelling seven days, during which it beat Leeds United in the league and came back from 2-1 down to beat AC Milan in its Champions League opener.
"We spoke about the schedule, this one is normal for us, three games a week... is a tough one so you have to think about this... we'll make changes again, that's clear," the German said.
Klopp confirmed that striker Roberto Firmino remains sidelined due to a hamstring injury but hinted that centre back Virgil van Dijk, who was rested against Milan, could feature against Palace.
"If you like we're still in extended pre-season for (Van Dijk). I don't want to talk about injuries, but Ibou (Ibrahima Konate), Joe (Gomez), Joel (Matip) all have had injuries. Now we just make sure we have a proper pair on the pitch."
Klopp praised Palace's strength up front, saying that new boss Patrick Vieira had made a massive difference and turned it into "a proper football side".
Palace, who beat Tottenham Hotspur last week to give Vieira his first win, is 11th in the league standings.