Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's manager, shared his thoughts ahead of their upcoming Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, reflecting on the swift cohesion of his team and the challenges posed by their schedule.
When asked about the rapid integration of his squad, Klopp acknowledged in his press conference on Friday: "Yeah. We had a good pre-season with a lot of players together, that is the main reason. That helps, definitely. Getting results in moments recently that may have gone the other way in previous years. Individually, their quality is good, the potential is there. The group is open to many things. This is a new start, year one for this team. We have created a basis and used it. We don't know how good we are, how stable this is, but we've had good moments."
Regarding Liverpool's team news, Klopp provided updates, saying: "Trent [Alexander-Arnold] trained yesterday and will train today. We have to make a decision. It looks like he can play. Stefan [Bajcetic] has had a little setback, we have to be careful; he's got a little calf issue. Thiago is still out."
Klopp also discussed the challenges of the schedule, particularly for teams like Chelsea and Tottenham, who are not participating in European competitions. The German stated: "Chelsea and Tottenham having no European football and being able to train all week when we and all the others travel makes it difficult. The performance is as important as the result; I would take a win, but it wouldn't give me an indication of where we are. There will be dips and difficult moments; we show we can adapt but we do not start the game in a great way. There is a lot of work to do. This is a tough week. Tottenham away, Union [Saint-Gilloise] at home and Brighton away are all tests."
In response to whether the upcoming match against Tottenham is the biggest test of the season, Klopp remarked: "It is a really tough test. I can't remember an easy game; we played at Newcastle, that was tough. Chelsea too; the away games have all been tough and home games not easy. Tottenham is doing really well. Ange [Postecoglou] seems to be a top bloke, I'm looking forward to meeting him. If you saw Celtic play you'd know how good a coach he is. He is delivering good football in a year when Harry Kane left. He is doing extremely well; they are exciting to watch. It'll be a test for both of us."
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