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News
Premier League: Team of the Week XVI feat. Tottenham and West Brom stars
Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Formation: 4-3-3
It was a classy night on Teeside for Jurgen Klopp, as his Liverpool side shrugged off recent pressure to return to winning ways in emphatic style at the Riverside. Klopp made a big call prior to the match in dropping under fire goalkeeper Loris Karius and reinstating Simon Mignolet, and the move paid dividends as the Belgian came in to keep a clean sheet, even if he had precious little to do.
Liverpool in the past have so often toiled against sides who pack players behind the ball, but Klopp set up his side to probe, and get behind with a dazzling show of pace and attacking football, the lynch-pin being Adam Lallana in midfield. The Reds’ 3-0 win means they have now notched 40 goals already this season, the last time they boasted such a margin in 1978/79, they won the title. A great testament to the free-scoring nature of Klopp’s side, but what was important amidst recent media pressure was to stem the tide of goals conceded and sure up the defence, and with Joel Matip absent, Klopp made the call of incorporating Ragnar Klavan to the defence, and that decision paid dividends as the Reds maintained a clean sheet and won at Middlesbrough for the first-time in seven attempts.
A few big calls for Klopp to make in a game that had potential to be a tricky encounter, but he set his side up perfectly and every selection decision he made proved to be the right one.
