Slot on Liverpool's 2-1 win at Wolves
28/09/2024
Molixneux Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK
28/09/2024
Molixneux Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Jürgen, you were made to work hard today,
00:10do you think that was the right result in the end?
00:13It's maybe for others to judge, but I think the first 15 minutes were difficult for us.
00:21The other team, Wolves had a week to prepare,
00:26and if you have a very good manager like Gary O'Neill,
00:29who's tactically really strong, he comes up with a really good game plan,
00:31and that's what he did. We were ready for this,
00:34you always have to wait what he then exactly does,
00:38but he overloaded our right side in a good manner,
00:42which made it difficult for us to control the game in the first 15 to 20 minutes.
00:46Then when it lied down a bit, the energy went away maybe a bit,
00:51then I think we took more and more control over the game.
00:55And for me, it wasn't a surprise the moment we scored a goal,
00:57because I thought that in those moments we were getting better and better,
01:01we got a big chance with Dominic Sopperslei.
01:05And I was almost surprised that we conceded the second half,
01:07because I felt that in the second half we had much more control than in the first half.
01:11But, yeah, we conceded a goal that was avoidable, let's put it that way.
01:19Top of the league after six games, I mean, it's a great start for you,
01:23did you expect to be top so early on?
01:26Yeah, but it's almost ideal that we play Wolves today,
01:30because we are top, they are last.
01:33And they absolutely don't deserve to be last,
01:36because they had a very difficult fixture list,
01:38and I've seen many games of them,
01:40and in almost every game they deserved more.
01:43And you could even argue today, because it wasn't like we were so much better than them.
01:47They were in the game, doing a lot of good things,
01:50so if they keep doing this against other teams as well,
01:54they will never end up number 20.
01:56And we still have to prove, if we come across against Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea,
02:02and which other fixture did they have? Aston Villa.
02:04If we can then still be up there, with Champions League games included as well.
02:11Does it give a psychological lift to yourself,
02:15players around the club, when you are top rather than chasing?
02:20Hmm, I think everybody is realistic enough.
02:23All the players have so much experience that they understand that in six games into the season
02:29it doesn't give you a realistic view on the league table.
02:33That is more like in 19 games, then you can really feel, OK, where are we?
02:38But of course it helps if you get some good results,
02:43especially if you bring in a new manager and a new staff,
02:47and being a successor of such a successful one.
02:50Then of course everybody understands that if we would have lost four or five
02:53out of these first six fixtures, life would have been a bit different than it is now.
02:59Is Andy Roberts late on, is that a big problem that he came over?
03:07I don't expect this to be a big problem, although you never know,
03:10but I think he just got a knock at the end phase of the game.
03:13Maybe he was a bit tired as well.
03:15Because the guy who came in, Forbes, I knew him of course from the Dutch competition,
03:21he made it a real fight for him as well.
03:26So, yeah, he got a bit of a knock, but I'm expecting him to be in training one day again.
03:31But let's wait.
03:34Being top of the league now, if it stays that way, how will you keep your players level-headed?
03:41If it stays this way, I don't have to keep them level-headed.
03:45But to keep it that way, that's probably what you mean.
03:48I don't think it's necessary for me to convince the players
03:51what all the challenges we still face.
03:55I've said it a few times now in different press moments today.
04:00Two years ago was the last time we played Champions League,
04:03and we all know what kind of a season that was.
04:05And last season we had a much better season,
04:09but then every time Virgil and all these other players got some rest during the week
04:13and we had to play once a week.
04:15So that's a completely different situation than playing Champions League during the week
04:18against a very tough and hard opponent,
04:21and then play Arsenal, and then play Aston Villa,
04:23and then play all these top teams that we are going to face after the next international break.
04:29So, for us there's still, I've said it many times, a lot to prove,
04:34especially if you look back at the season two years ago.
04:37And it's still almost completely the same group.
04:43Thank you, everyone.