"I asked the boys to delete it" - Jurgen Klopp reveals half-time talk that inspired Liverpool players in win over Luton Town
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shared what he told his players at halftime against Luton Town as they came back from 1-0 down to win 4-1 on February 21.
The Reds hosted Luton at Anfield in the Premier League on Wednesday. They squandered plenty of chances in the first half and were punished for it as the Hatters took the lead in the 12th minute via Chiedozei Ogbenne.
However, the Merseysiders came back full throttle after half-time. Virgil van Dijk restored parity in the 56th minute before Cody Gakpo made it 2-1 two minutes later. Luis Diaz (71') and Harvey Elliott (90') completed the scoring to help Liverpool restore their four-point lead atop the Premier League table.
After the game, Klopp was asked what he told his players at half-time and he replied (via The Liverpool Offside):
“I asked the boys to delete it. The few things that brought us into a rush, delete it. That’s how it is. Let’s start new; if we win the second half 1-0, we get a point. If we win 2-0, we win the game, so there was a massive chance.
"We all saw that this season already that we can turn things [after] the first half maybe where the game looks slightly different. How I said, I asked the boys, ‘Did you like the game? Because your faces don’t look like?’”
The Reds have won their last three league game and will now face Chelsea in the EFL Cup final on Sunday, February 25.
Jurgen Klopp provides injury update ahead of Liverpool's EFL Cup final
The Reds will take on Chelsea at Wembley on February 25. While they have had three positive results in a row, Liverpool have faced disappointment in terms of injuries. Key players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota are all out injured.
Moreover, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah also picked up injuries during their 4-1 win over Brentford last time out. After the Luton win, Jurgen Klopp touched upon his side's injury issues, saying (via This is Anfield):
“The situation is not great, absolutely not. There are obviously now a lot of super important games coming up and we don’t know, we go day by day. I cannot say anything about it and I don’t know.
“But, after Brentford, I had no clue that the situation would be like it is now.”
"Fingers crossed Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez can play in the League Cup final."
Salah had only returned to action against Brentford after a month out due to injury but suffered another setback before the Luton clash. He has registered 19 goals and 10 assists in 28 games across competitions for Liverpool this season.