Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
- Liverpool defeat Arsenal 2-0 in the FA Cup’s fourth round.
- Victory was secured despite missing key players.
- Klopp praises the team’s resilience and ability.
After Liverpool defeated Arsenal 2-0 on Sunday to advance to the FA Cup’s fourth round, manager Jurgen Klopp praised his team for stepping up in the absence of important players.
Wataru Endo, a midfielder, and Mohamed Salah, a winger, were absent from Liverpool due to their commitments to the Egyptian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations and the Japanese national team for the Asian Cup.
Virgil van Dijk, the captain and star defender, missed time due to illness as well.
Among those with injuries are Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, and Joel Matip.
“That’s a really good football team we missed. Football is like that. Sometimes you have them all available, it’s pretty rare, and sometimes you don’t have them available. I’m super happy,” Klopp told reporters.
“First half you could see it didn’t click. It was not because of new players or whatever; it was just the timing was bad, and that doesn’t help.
“I said to the boys in the meeting before the game: humans are like that. It’s a tough game, nobody comes to Arsenal and wins just like this (clicks fingers).”
Jakub Kiwior’s own goal and Luis Diaz’s late goal for Liverpool eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup, securing their place in the League Cup semi-finals and Europa League round of 16.
“The boys enjoyed the game, at least in the second half. Staying in a game that looked in the first half like that, then growing into a game, is a pretty special thing to do. Especially an away game,” the German said.
Liverpool’s next game is on Wednesday at Anfield, home to Fulham, in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
