Jurgen Klopp praised an ‘exceptional’ first-half performance from Liverpool after the Reds edged closer to the top four with a win over Aston Villa.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk struck in the first half before Stefan Bajcetic’s first senior goal wrapped up a 3-1 triumph for the visitors.
Victory moved them five points adrift of the Champions League spots, remaining sixth, ahead of Friday’s visit of Leicester, and Klopp was delighted with the win.
“It was a top performance in a difficult game,” he told Amazon.
“I think we were exceptional in the first half, the only problem was the second half when we missed a little bit the last step all of a sudden and they were pushing hard. You have to get through these periods.
“We could have scored the third goal much earlier but it was really cool that we could finish it off.”
Klopp praised the contribution of Darwin Nunez, despite his failure to get on the scoresheet, and was also pleased with the impact of substitute Stefan Bajcetic.
“He’s cheeky like hell, he’s not worried about anything,” Klopp said of goalscorer Bajcetic.
“The (footballing) genes are obviously there, but the attitude and awareness are really big and it’s a big pleasure to work with these boys.”
Andy Robertson hailed a “perfect” result on their return to action.
“It’s perfect for us,” Robertson said. “Our away form this season hasn’t been good enough, we had a big result at Tottenham before the break and it was important to back that up.
“It’s a tough place to come, (they’ve got) a new manager, so it’s an important three points for us. The first half couldn’t have gone much better for us.”
Asked about now having the most assists for a defender in the Premier League after setting up Salah’s opener, Robertson added: “I’m not really into individual things, I’m all for the team, but when you do stuff like that in the Premier League against some unbelievable defenders it’s always nice to put yourself at the top.”
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