Klopp adamant 'nothing has changed' as Liverpool close in on Manchester City

Reds can reduce gap on Guardiola's league leaders to three points with win over Leeds on Wednesday

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the second goal against Norwich City at Anfield on Saturday, February 19, 2022. AFP

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah takes on Norwich's Brandon Williams at Anfield. EPA

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah after scoring at Anfield on Saturday. PA

Liverpool's striker Sadio Mane scores the first goal against Norwich City at Anfield. AFP

Sadio Mane celebrates scoring at Anfield. PA

Sadio Mane celebrates with Luis Diaz of Liverpool after scoring the first goal on Saturday. Getty

Liverpool's Luis Diaz scored the third goal against Norwich City. EPA

Liverpool Luis Diaz, right, with Kostas Tsimikas after scoring the third goal. AFP

Jurgen Klopp was on his way out on Saturday evening when his driver became animated about the score updates from the Etihad Stadium. “He was very excited and said it was 2-2 and then 3-2 and I thought [Manchester] City won,” he said. His reaction to discovering Tottenham had instead got the decider, he said, was: “Oh.”

Others may have had a more dramatic response, but Klopp is adopting an understated approach to the prospect of catching City. “If it was 12 points, 15 points or whatever, it would be a completely different situation. But for us, nothing changed really, we have to win all our games,” he said.

Win the first of them, against Leeds on Wednesday, and the gap at the Premier League summit, which stretched to 13 points when City beat Chelsea last month, is down to three.

“I cannot count points on our account before we played the game,” Klopp responded. The closest he came to accepting that the situation has altered was when he said: “They are not completely out of reach any more. But we have so many games to play and, yes, if we could win them all it is a title race and if not, it is probably not a title race.”

He seemed to be considering the evidence from the run-in in 2019 when City triumphed in their final 14 games. Liverpool won their last nine, ended with 97 points and were still one behind Pep Guardiola’s team. “Historically it happens more often than not that they win pretty much all theirs,” Klopp said. “I didn’t think a second about the title race.”

Liverpool v Norwich City player ratings

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6. The Brazilian’s main contribution was the long ball that set up Salah to give Liverpool the lead. Had no chance with Rashica’s deflected goal. Getty

Joe Gomez - 6. The 24-year-old was workmanlike enough at right back but does not have the creative spark that Alexander-Arnold brings to the side. He will be happy enough with his first Premier League start in 15 months. PA

Joel Matip - 5. Was unfortunate to deflect Rashica’s effort into the net. After that, he seemed to be unduly nervous. Few opportunities for him to step forward with the ball. EPA

Virgil van Dijk - 7. The Dutchman was commanding at the back and vocal when his team-mates made mistakes. He was calm during periods of Norwich pressure. AP

Kostas Tsimikas - 6. The Greek should have scored in the first half and his passing was not as precise as he might have liked. His header set up the equaliser. EPA

Jordan Henderson - 8. The captain carried the load in midfield but grew in stature when Thiago came on. After that he thrived, contributing to the equaliser and setting up the third goal with an excellent ball. AP

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 4. The 28-year-old needs to grab his chance when he starts in games like this. He didn’t. His pressing, passing and awareness were short of what was needed. Replaced by Thiago in the 62nd minute. Getty

Naby Keita - 5. The Guinean probed relentlessly but few of his forward passes found their man. He made way for Origi in the 62nd minute. Reuters

Mohamed Salah - 8. The Egyptian turned Williams inside out and had a header cleared off the line. Latched on to Alisson’s punt, made the entire defence look static and scored his 150th goal for the club. AFP

Sadio Mane - 7. The Senegalese made the defenders work and ran relentlessly. His overhead kick for the equaliser was a splendid piece of athleticism. EPA

Luis Diaz - 7. The Colombian was not in sync with Tsimikas early on but signs of understanding grew as the game went on. He pressed hard and took his goal with aplomb. He was taken off in the final minute for Minamino. EPA

SUBS: Thiago Alcantara - 8. The game changed with his arrival in place of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 62nd minute. Norwich could not cope with his passing and he controlled the rest of the match. AP

Divock Origi - 6. The Belgian joined the action in the 62nd minute for Keita. He presented a different, physical challenge for the defence and made space for his team-mates. AFP

Takumi Minamino - 5. The Japanese was given a short runout when he replaced Diaz in the final minute. He was grateful for the chance to stretch his legs. AFP

NORWICH RATINGS: Angus Gunn - 6. Made good saves from Tsimikas and Salah but was overwhelmed in the second half. There was not much he could do for any of Liverpool’s goals. AFP

Max Aarons - 5. The 22-year-old had a fine first hour but could not maintain his form when Liverpool turned up the heat. He lost Mane before the equaliser. PA

Grant Hanley - 5. The Scot stood strong and blocked a series of shots in the opening period but was bemused by the movement of Liverpool’s front three. He looked very static in the last half hour. EPA

Ben Gibson - 4. The 29-year-old made some crucial interceptions but he showed a tendency to get sucked out of position. Diaz ran into the space behind him for Liverpool’s third goal. AFP

Brandon Williams - 6. The 21-year-old was bright and used the ball well. Pukki should have scored from one of his passes. He found defending against Salah much less enjoyable than going forward. EPA

Mathias Normann - 6. The Norwegian was effective in the holding role and cleared Salah’s header off the line. He found things tougher in the second period and was replaced by Lees-Melou with eight minutes left. Getty

Billy Gilmour - 3. The Scot, on loan from Chelsea, is not equipped for a relegation battle. He is weak in the tackle and lightweight on the ball. There was barely any sign of his ability at Anfield. Getty

Kenny McLean - 4. The Scot got behind the defence on occasion but could not find a man with his crosses. He can blame the lack of support but he needs to be cleverer in getting his head up before passing. Getty

Josh Sargent - 6. The American put in a shift to help Aarons against Tsimikas and gave the ball to Rashica before Norwich’s goal. He was withdrawn for Placheta with 14 minutes left. PA

Milot Rashica - 7. The Kosovan was effective and troubled the defence. He scored with a deflected shot but it was fair reward for his efforts. Rowe came on for him with four minutes left. EPA

Teemu Pukki - 3. The Finn had a poor afternoon. He should have scored when one-on-one with Alisson early on and did not cause the defence many problems afterward. AP

SUBS: Przemyslaw Placheta - 5. The Pole replaced Sargent with 14 minutes to go. He struggled to get into the game. Getty

Pierre Lees-Melou - 5. Joined the action with eight minutes left at Normann’s expense. There was little he could do to affect the match. Getty. Jonathan Rowe - 6. Given a taste of Anfield when Rashica came off with four minutes left. Created a chance for Pukki.

He has concentrated more of his attention on Leeds. Their first game back in the Premier League in 2020 was a 4-3 defeat at Anfield and Klopp described them as “high scorers in both directions.”

Leeds’ action-packed 4-2 defeat to Manchester United backed up that analysis and while Klopp’s Liverpool are renowned for the pace and intensity of their game, Leeds can work harder than most.

“Leeds is pretty much leading in three of the decisive running stats. If you are not really in the game, they will eat you,” Klopp warned. “You saw all the faces of Leeds United on Sunday, very brave and very exciting offensively and they go with everything they have. Defensively you can cause them problems but it is difficult as well because of the man-marking all over the pitch.”

Klopp has ruled out resting players ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. “One thing I learned over the years is it doesn’t work for me to have two or three games in mind,” he said.

“If you rest someone for 60 minutes and then bring him on and he gets a knock in the 65th, what is the point?” He will be without the injured pair of Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota, who are yet to return to training, and is unsure if either will be fit to play at Wembley.

Leeds have added the concussed Robin Koch to an injury list that already includes Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper. It means Marcelo Bielsa is without two of his premier centre-backs as well as his first-choice defensive midfielder.

They brought up an unwanted half-century by becoming only the second team to let in 50 league goals this season on Sunday. As they prepare to face the top scorers, Bielsa blamed his own defensive system. “You have to analyse why,” he said. “What are the real reasons and how to avoid this from happening? That’s my function and when you have played these games and [conceded] these goals, the conclusions are clear.”