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Jurgen Klopp says Tottenham avoided Liverpool defender Rhys Williams in the air
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes that young star Rhys Williams performed so well on Wednesday night that opponents Tottenham deliberately tried to avoid him in aerial battles.
Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table by beating previous leaders Spurs 2-1 at Anfield, as Roberto Firmino scored a dramatic 90th minute header to silence some critics of his.
The Merseyside giants bounced back from a draw against Fulham with three points against Spurs, who based off the opening months of the season could be serious title contenders this year.
Klopp singled out academy graduate Williams for immense praise following his midweek performance against Spurs.
The 19-year-old defender was making his Premier League debut, as his previous eight senior appearances for the Reds had come in cup competitions.
Despite being thrown in at the deep end against a Spurs attack that possessed Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane, the teenage centre-back stood firm in the backline next to Fabinho and was also assured in possession.
“Second-half they only played long balls and they avoided actually Rhys,” Klopp told Amazon Prime (10:08pm, 16 December).
“They played the long balls in the direction of Fabinho and put Harry [Kane] there – so we had to really fight for these second balls – because Rhys is so strong in the air.
“But with the ball as well, he played a pass before our first goal… Absolutely incredible game, I have to say.”
TBR’s View:
Williams is one of the Liverpool youngsters that has been fast-tracked into the senior squad due to injuries this season, but he’s certainly done himself no harm with his first-team appearances and it was another landmark for him with a top-flight debut in the win over Spurs.
The colossus centre-back perhaps switched off in the second-half when Steven Bergwijn got in behind the defence, but fortunately the Dutch attacker missed it and the error wasn’t costly.
Williams is going to make small mistakes at his age and he looks like he’s going to be quite the player when he develops, something which is happening every day he plays alongside top-class individuals in games and in training.