Klopp dismisses suggestion that Liverpool can’t handle pressure

Joe Williams

Jurgen Klopp is confident that Liverpool can handle the pressure in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures Liverpool sit in third position, three points ahead of Manchester City – who occupy fourth – and four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United.

The Reds lost at home to Crystal Palace a fortnight ago but managed to bounce back on Monday with a narrow victory over Watford, thanks to a piece of magic from Emre Can.

“Since I have been here we had one semi-final defeat,” said Klopp ahead of Sunday’s clash with Southampton.

“[We had] a very good performance against Man City in the EFL Cup final – that was not about not handling pressure.

“Yes, we did not win the penalty shoot-out, but if this is about not handling pressure I don’t know what you think it says about England teams over the years.

“Everybody would say that is more luck than pressure. We had the [Europa League] semi-final against Villarreal and handled the pressure, world class.’

“We talk about one game and then forget five or six other games where we handled pressure really well.

“So far I haven’t seen a sign that we cannot handle pressure. I actually thought that when we had pressure we are always at our best. Maybe not always, but most of the time.”