Jurgen Klopp believes 'some things have changed' for his Liverpool side after recording back-to-back Premier League wins with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Liverpool crushed Leeds United 6-1 earlier in the week before edging past strugglers Forest to secure successive league wins for the first time since the start of March.
The Reds are now unbeaten in their last four games and sit seventh in the standings with 50 points, six adrift of Newcastle United in fourth, who play fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
"Some things have changed. Today I saw a lot of top, top, top counter-pressing moments," Klopp told reporters after the win at Anfield.
"I loved that – and that's, for us, super-important. I think we are much clearer again in that department.
"If you are not only solid but really good and aggressive and positive in defending then you can build on that. For me, it feels like it's the first time this season that we have that – late but hopefully not too late."
Klopp also heaped praise on forward Diogo Jota, who scored twice against Forest and now has four goals in two games after failing to score in his previous 32 appearances for the club. Mohamed Salah scored the winner after Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White had twice equalised for Forest.
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest player ratings
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LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson – 6. Denied Gibbs-White with a brilliant stop in the 49th minute. Couldn’t have done anything to keep either of the Forest goals out. AP Photo -
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Provided an excellent delivery from a set piece for Van Dijk to test Navas in the 26th minute. Put in another decent delivery for Jota to head wide soon after. Grabbed the assist for Salah's goal with a precise delivery into the Forest penalty area. AFP -
Ibrahima Konate – 5. Almost notched his fourth goal for the Reds with a header that just flashed wide in the eighth minute. Caught ball-watching as Johnson got on the wrong side of him and almost scored Nottingham Forest’s third late on. AFP -
Virgil Van Dijk – 5. Had a shaky start with a number of misplaced passes. Almost put the Reds ahead with a header that was tipped over by Navas in the 26th minute. Beaten in the air far too easily by Felipe in the build-up to Forest’s second goal. PA -
Andy Robertson – 7. Unlucky to unintentionally deflect Williams’ effort past Alisson after the break. Set up Jota a few minutes later with a well-weighted cross into the penalty area to restore Liverpool’s lead. AP Photo -
Fabinho – 7. Was in the right place at the right time to halt a Forest counterattack in the 21st minute. Set up Jota for Liverpool’s opener with a header back into the danger area. PA -
Jordan Henderson - 6. Denied by a Joe Worrall block in the 64th minute. Failed to close down Gibbs-White quickly enough for his goal three minutes later. AFP -
Curtis Jones – 6. A quiet game in the middle of the pitch for Liverpool’s homegrown youngster. He kept things simple and helped the Reds build attacks from deep alongside Fabinho. Getty Images -
Mohamed Salah – 7. Had a quiet game until he popped up behind Freuler to get on the end of an Alexander-Arnold set piece and score Liverpool’s third. Denied a second goal by a Navas save in the 76th minute. EPA -
Diogo Jota – 9. Should have scored when he headed Alexander-Arnold's cross wide from just two yards out in the 38th minute. Made amends for his earlier miss but putting the Reds ahead from close range with a simple header after the break. Scored his second with a beautiful volley into the bottom corner in the 55th minute. Reuters -
Cody Gakpo – 6. Saw an improvised effort cleared off the line by Williams in the 31st minute. Dropped deep in search of the ball in the second half which gave Jota room to do the damage in the number 9 position. AP Photo -
SUBS: Darwin Nunez (Gakpo, 59’) – 6. Helped relieve pressure by drawing a foul from Williams in 87th minute. Should have done better with his header when Robertson’s cross found him in the penalty area a minute later. Reuters -
Thiago Alcantara (Fabinho, 59’) – 6. Brought on to help the Reds regain control of proceedings, Thiago worked hard and was impressive in possession but he lacked the physical presence to halt Forest’s counterattacks. Reuters -
James Milner (Jones, 81) - N/A. Came on and provided support for the struggling Alexander-Arnold at right-back. Getty Images -
Liuz Diaz (Jota, 81’) - N/A. Worked hard after coming on but didn't have a chance to test Navas. Reuters -
NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Keylor Navas – 6. Displayed excellent reflexes to tip Van Dijk’s header over the crossbar in the 26th minute. Came up with another good save to deny Jota a hat-trick in the second half. EPA -
Felipe – 7. Made a good block to stop a Salah pass from finding Gakpo in the 43rd minute. Gave Jota too much space and time on the ball to control, juggle the ball and hit it past Navas after the break. Assisted Gibbs-White's goal with a simple header in the danger area. EPA -
Moussa Niakhate – 6. Made a last-ditch challenge to deny Gakpo an attempt at goal in the first half. His long throws in the penalty area caused problems for Liverpool all day. AP Photo -
Scott McKenna – 6. Made a brilliant start to the game but had to go off in the 28th minute due to an injury. AP Photo -
Neco Williams – 7. Denied Gakpo a certain goal by making a goalline clearance in the 31st minute. Drew Forest level against his former employers with a deflected effort after the break. AP Photo -
Remo Freuler – 5. Allowed Salah to easily get on the wrong side of him to score Liverpool’s third goal in the 70th minute. Failed to provide any sort of impact in attack. AP Photo -
Orel Mangala – 6. Tracked back effectively to deny Fabinho space on the edge of the penalty area in the 18th minute. Forced Alisson into a routine save with a weak header late on. EPA -
Renan Lodi - 6. Had an impressive first half during which he Kept Salah quiet. Could have done better with his reaction to Fabinho's header en route to Jota’s first goal. AFP -
Morgan Gibbs-White – 8. Had Nottingham Forest’s first shot on target with an effort that went straight into the arms of Alisson in the 17th minute. Almost drew Forest level with a volley that Alisson managed to punch wide after the break. Assisted Forest’s opener by laying off the ball for Williams to hammer home. Drew Forest level for the second time with a volley in the 67th minute. Getty Images -
Danilo – 5. Deployed in a more advanced role just behind Awoniyi, Danilo failed to make much of an attacking impact but dropped off well to help out in midfield. Reuters -
Taiwo Awoniyi – 7. Put in a good defensive header to clear the lines in the seventh minute. Began the move that led to Forest opener by laying the ball off to Gibbs-White. His impressive hold-up play was crucial to bringing his teammates into the game, and also helping to relieve pressure. AFP -
SUBS: Joe Worrall (McKenna, 30’) – 6. Lost Fabinho for his header en route to the Reds‘ opener. Did well to quickly change his stance and set up Johnson for a shot with an improvised header in the second minute of injury time. Reuters -
Brennan Johnson (Freuler, 76’) - N/A. Thought he’d scored when he lifted the ball past the onrushing Alisson in the 79th minute but his effort came back off the crossbar. Could only hit another effort high when Worrall's flick found him in the penalty area in the closing stages. PA -
Andre Ayew (Awoniyi, 87') - N/A .Struggled to get into the game. Getty Images -
Emmanuel Dennis (Felipe, 87) - N/A. Came on too late to make an impact. Reuters
Portugal international Jota spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines earlier this season with a calf injury, but has hit his stride in recent weeks and also scored two goals in the win over Leeds.
"I think the second goal you really can see what goals do to offensive players. They give confidence," Klopp said.
"It's wonderful after the long, long time that he was out and now having these positive things – was involved in the Arsenal equaliser in a very important manner and now scoring twice a brace – is top."
Liverpool will be looking to keep their faint hopes of a top-four finish alive when they travel to West Ham United on Wednesday.
