Every side has an advantage whenever it is up against any opponent on home turf coz home crowd is supposed to boost the morale of home team even if they are trailing decisively. Last Liverpool game against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield was one such game where hosts were once straggling by two goals and then it was almost sure they will have to face a surprising defeat but fans helped their side rejuvenate in the middle and gradually shred off the lead ending the game in a 2-2 draw. With that results, Reds’ board ranking improved by one position, i.e., they are now at number nine with goal difference of just one and manager Jurgen Klopp capitalized the opportunity and thanked his fans for not letting them down when they were under tremendous pressure. Visitors took advantage of the corners and Craig Dawson and Jonas Olsson exploited the opportunities by netting two goals. To answer their edge, 20-year-old Belgium Divock Origi scored the equalizer to earn some points out of a sure shot defeat.
Considering the game as the hardest for the new German boss, Klopp said in the post-match news conference, “We spoke about a special atmosphere, and it was a special atmosphere. It was such a hard game; we played on Thursday on ice and today against the wall. We played good, we created chances, but we got two set plays.
“I don’t know how many percent of our goals we concede are set plays — 98 percent or something like this — so we defended well, everything was good. Creating chances is not easy against a team like this, especially when you played on Thursday. You play against an opponent and they play long balls all the time, they only want set plays, free-kicks, whatever, so it was really, really hard.”
Adding about the response from crowd and if was grossly supportive, 48-year-old added, “Maybe the crowd was disappointed but they didn’t let us feel, and that’s the thing: we all were in the game, concentrated, we all wanted to get this one point at the end and it felt like three. In this moment, it was an explosion. It was the best atmosphere since I have been here. I really enjoyed it and at the end — I don’t know if it’s normal in England — I wanted to say thank-you, that’s all. Together with the team it was great, it was absolutely great.”
