Southampton: Klopp heaps praise on Saints despite 4-0 loss to Liverpool

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp heaped praise on Southampton despite his side claiming a 4-0 win over the Saints on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors to Anfield did worry Klopp’s men in the first-half of yesterday’s game and had some very good chances to take the lead.

Saints would have also been frustrated by refereeing decisions after a picked up backpass from Liverpool and by Danny Ings being denied a penalty, but the Reds’ attacking in the second-half ultimately proved enough to win the game outright.

Speaking to skysports.com after the game, Klopp said:

"“The set-up of Southampton I could not give more credit to. They had too many shots on target and we had to change in the second half. That helped massively and when we are rolling it’s difficult to stop. Even when it was 4-0 Southampton did not stop and I have so much respect for that.”"

In many ways, the praise shows how far Saints have come in their rise up the Premier League table.

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Having started the season still using a three-man defence and looking to keep things tight, the players are now being given the freedom to attack.

Much of this has come from Ralph Hasenhuttl assessing his squad, learning who plays best in which positions and returning to the 4-2-2-2 system that made him so successful in Germany.

Sometimes this formation sees the Saints defence exposed, but further forward it provides the attack with fluidity and numbers to really cause problems for the opposition.

Part of Klopp’s praise is probably also relief that a team has set up to attack his side instead of defend.

The fact that Saints were so positive and still lost by four goals shows just how much is needed to actually take points off of Liverpool this year.

Saints would have needed at least one of the backpass and penalty decisions to go their way, and for their hosts to miss the chances that they created – neither of which happened for them.