Icon: enlarge
Jürgen Klopp: When he grins, his team has usually won
Photo: Marton Monus / dpa
Can six home games in a row in the Premier League pass Liverpool FC without a trace?
That was the big question before the second leg of the second leg against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
The short answer is: Liverpool FC seems to be a different team in the premier class.
But there is also a longer answer, and in the 24th minute it looked at least for a moment as if the English had recently suffered a few too many setbacks.
Thiago had played a wonderful long ball in the tip to Mohamed Salah.
But the longer the Egyptian marched, the more nervous he seemed to get.
The Leipzig defense caught up with him, blocked his way and Salah failed from an acute angle to RB keeper Péter Gulácsi.
After that, Sadio Mané forgave Mané in a curious way, he seemed unable to decide whether to put the ball on goal with his head or foot.
He took his head, he made the wrong decision.
This one scene could have been a summary of the past few weeks.
The Reds have great moments - and bad ones too.
They created opportunities but didn't score.
Goal machines like Salah and Mané follow their shape.
Sometimes they lack happiness, sometimes they lack confidence.
At some point the opponent strikes.
"Liverpool 2021 is that we have huge things that we don't use," said Jürgen Klopp after the game on Sky about the many missed chances against Leipzig, especially in the first half.
But Klopp also said: "We continued playing."
You don't really have to watch Liverpool's games to find out how the game ended.
It is usually enough to see Jürgen Klopp in an interview after the final whistle.
Recently, he has often reacted viciously, it is not his greatest strength to declare defeat immediately after the final whistle.
But that evening Klopp was in a very good mood.
The 53-year-old only had to say this time that his team was pretty strong.
After 90 minutes it could be stated that the last six defeats at Anfield that evening (again the game took place in Budapest) did not play a particularly important role at Liverpool.
In the 70th minute, Salah gave the Reds the lead, four minutes later Mané scored for the final score.
It was a copy of the first leg that the two goal scorers had already decided with their goals.
The premier class is their competition, and Liverpool are in the quarter-finals after two 2-0 wins.
Icon: enlarge
Thiago (left) watches the duel between Fabinho and Forsberg
Photo: Laszlo Balogh / AP
Especially the defensive performance of the English was excellent even without the many injured regulars.
Above all, Fabinho and Thiago towered above.
The Brazilian Fabinho had recently been absent with muscular problems and then only slowly found his way back into the rhythm.
When the fast attacking players had flown out, the 27-year-old ensured the defensive balance against Leipzig.
He is a player for balance.
But he also needs supporters.
Fabinho intercepted the most balls against Leipzig, while Thiago won the most tackles at his side.
Thiago struggled with many problems after moving from Bayern, he was infected with Covid-19 and injured his knee, he had to find his way in a new environment, in a new league, in the Premier League he is getting harder and faster attacked than in Germany.
There is also the fact that many of Liverpool's development players are injured.
In the end, Thiago had to shoulder a responsibility that he didn't seem ready for.
The return of Fabinho is all the more important.
Thiago and Fabinho were the cornerstone, they raised the fortress that was crucial for progress.
For the second place in the Bundesliga, the round of 16 ends with a bitter realization: Leipzig was not able to score a single goal in the first and second leg.
Against the opponent who had to do without his three best defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip in both games.
That doesn't speak for Leipzig.
Perhaps the two goalless games should also be seen as a compliment to the Liverpool side, who are still ready for big challenges in the club's most difficult phase in a long time.
Like a tournament team that is there when it has to.
In the Premier League, however, the team needs a little miracle to be able to take a place in the Champions League.
There are currently seven points missing from fourth-placed Chelsea, who are in top form.
The last chance to be in the premier class next year is probably to win the Champions League this year.
There are simpler tasks, but also more hopeless ones.
Klopp currently does not want to be national coach
"We didn't set ourselves any limits," said Klopp later.
“But we don't leave the stadium full-bodied either, we don't say we're all going away now.
With us, no injured person comes back, that's the squad, these are the guys, with whom we pull this off. "
Klopp looked very determined.
He was the day before the game when he was asked about the possible successor to Joachim Löw as national coach.
"I have a contract, and even if Liverpool throws me out of here: When my time here is up, I'll take a year off first," he said at Sky.
Klopp kicked out of Liverpool - until a few months ago that would have been an unimaginable scenario, and after that evening there is no reason for Liverpool FC to rush Jürgen Klopp out of the door.
He is still in the tournament with his team.
Icon: The mirror
