Jurgen Klopp brands 'sharp' Liverpool a 'joy to watch' after demolishing West Ham United in EFL Cup, lauds Curtis Jones
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Published 20/12/2023 at 23:56 GMT
Jurgen Klopp was thrilled with Liverpool's performance as they eased through to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup. Curtis Jones scored twice, while Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Gakpo and Mohamed Salah were also on target as the Reds demolished West Ham United with a 5-1 victory at Anfield. Klopp says his side were "a joy to watch" as they booked themselves a two-legged last-four clash with Fulham.
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Jurgen Klopp branded his Liverpool side "a joy to watch" as they romped into the semi-finals of the League Cup by beating West Ham 5-1.
The Reds enjoyed 67% of the possession at Anfield and landed 29 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target, as they booked themselves a last-four clash with Fulham.
It was a much more potent display that an the weekend, when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United in the Premier League.
And Klopp was thrilled with a near perfect performance from his players.
"It was a really, really good game," he told Sky Sports. "We were really difficult to play tonight. We were sharp. We were spot on from the first second. We played really good football.
"In the first half, they didn’t have a shot on goal and they didn’t have a set piece, which is really important.
"In the second half, they scored their goal and had two or three more set pieces, but left and right of that, it was a really, really good performance.
"I’m really happy for the boys tonight that they could show up like this. It was just a joy to watch to be honest. It was one of those rare days when you think ‘wow, football is really a nice game!’"
Liverpool last lifted the League Cup in 2022, when they beat Chelsea on penalties in the final.
They remain on course for a rerun of that fixture, after the pair were kept apart in the last-four draw, with Mauricio Pochettino's side paired with Championship outfit Middlesbrough.
That is arguably The Blues' best chance of some silverware this season, whereas The Reds are still competing on all four fronts.
They sit second in the Premier League ahead of a huge clash with table-topping Arsenal on Saturday and are also through to the knock-out stages of the UEFA Europa League.
The high volume of fixtures means Klopp has been forced to rotate his squad throughout the campaign to keep everybody fresh, but he says that's helped his players hit the ground running when they've been called upon.
"It’s really important that we can use the squad," he continued. "That’s what we want to do. It’s always about that.
"Because we did it so far in this season, I think everybody has a kind of rhythm.
"That’s helpful as well, because if you don’t play for ages, then 'boof', you get this opportunity, it’s difficult.
"But everybody on the pitch tonight showed that they really wanted to play the game, that they wanted to win the game and they wanted to qualify for the semi-finals. It was just a top performance from start to finish."
Curtis Jones was one of the stars of the show for the Reds, bagging a brace on his return to the starting line-up.
And Klopp says the midfielder has now set the bar with his performance levels.
"I'm really happy for him," he concluded. "The skillset he has is immense, but sometimes he forgets to speed the game up.
"The second goal is exactly what Curtis can do. He has this speed and tempo and he doesn’t use it often enough. We tell him quite frequently.
"Tonight he did it and l that’s for him an eye opener. He looked really sharp."
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