Liverpool news: Jurgen Klopp says hoping for Manchester City slip is 'wasted energy'
- Planet Sport writer
- 11 May 2022
Liverpool beat Aston Villa to increase pressure on Man City in title race.
Jurgen Klopp says worrying about Manchester City's form would be "wasted energy" for his Liverpool players after they beat Aston Villa.
The result sees Liverpool joining Man City on 86 points at the top of the Premier League table, although the Citizens do have a game in hand.
Klopp saw his side fall behind to an early Douglas Luiz strike at Villa Park before Joel Matip hit an instant reply.
A second half goal from Sadio Mane eventually won it for Liverpool, who will now be watching to see if Wolves are able to beat Man City on Wednesday to swing the title race wide open again.
"We don't waste energy thinking hopefully they (Man City) lose," Klopp said.
"Now we have to really recover and to play the FA Cup final because there is no mercy. The situation, qualifying for the finals, is massive.
"Their quality and mentality and character is the reason why we are where we are. I'm not surprised they can do something like this but I don't take it for granted.
"We had an outstanding and incredible mentality. We needed time to find our way into the game and our opponent was there in the beginning, really aggressive.
"In the last 10 or 15 minutes we really stated controlling the game, it was the way we had to do it. We scored a second, incredible, goal.
14 – No side has won more points from losing positions in the Premier League this season than Liverpool (14). Character. pic.twitter.com/KBC0pMZ3xF
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 10, 2022
"Luis (Diaz) was sensational and Sadio made the world of it. Then we had to dig deep, they had moments and a big chance with (Danny) Ings."
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, was left disappointed by the quality of refereeing in the game, although ultimately he had no complaints about the result.
"I hope the referee's performance is looked at," he added.
"We have got to take those big moments we created and we're slightly frustrated we didn't score more than once," said Villa boss Steven Gerrard.
"We were ambitious, brave, courageous and went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world. It was a massive challenge and a big ask but I'm extremely proud of what they brought. We knew we would have to suffer at times against this team.
"We're disappointed with both goals we conceded and frustrated we couldn't keep the lead for longer. I can't ask for any more from the players. We made Liverpool work extremely hard."
