Account
Jurgen Klopp: Southampton 'Celebrated More Than' Liverpool over Super Cup Win
August 15, 2019
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp suggested upcoming opponents Southampton will have been even more pleased with the Reds' penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
The Merseyside outfit, who travel to Southampton on Saturday, triumphed 5-4 in the shootout after playing out a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes.
Per the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle, Klopp said:
"Nobody wanted extra time tonight. We will have to be ready again, and that's my present to the players, to be able to help them recover so they are ready for the game.
"Let's try to find a way to win on Saturday, then we have Arsenal coming up. Both will be incredibly difficult for different reasons.
"Only one team celebrated more than us tonight, and that's probably Southampton when they saw 90 minutes, no decision!"
Olivier Giroud handed Chelsea the lead in the 36th minute after Christian Pulisic threaded a pass through the Reds defence. Pulisic found the net himself shortly after, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Sadio Mane equalised two minutes into the second half when he bundled home from close range. Despite chances for both sides, including another disallowed effort for Chelsea, the game proceeded to extra time.
Mane crashed in a strike off the bar five minutes into extra time after a one-two with Roberto Firmino carved open the Blues back line.
The match went to penalties after Jorginho dispatched a spot-kick awarded against Adrian for a challenge on Tammy Abraham, though contact between the goalkeeper and striker appeared minimal.
After Liverpool converted each of their first five penalties, Adrian denied Chelsea's fifth taker, Abraham, to win the match.
Here are the highlights (U.S. and UK only, respectively):
The match kicked off in Istanbul at 10 p.m. local time, so it was gone midnight by the time it finished.
Liverpool return to England on Thursday before facing Southampton at St. Mary's at 3 p.m. BST on Saturday.
BT Sport's Gary Lineker and ESPN's Dale Johnson and Mark Ogden questioned the need for extra time to be played in the match:
It will do Liverpool no good ahead of their clash with the Saints, and it's far from ideal in a campaign in which they will be looking to compete on multiple fronts.
While an extra half-hour may not seem much on its own, minutes add up over the course of the season.
On top of the UEFA Champions League and their domestic responsibilities, the Reds will already have more games to deal with because of their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup in December.
Goalkeeper Adrian was their only senior acquisition over the summer too, so in terms of outfield players they don't have extra bodies to help with the rotation that will be needed to keep the squad fresh unless Klopp is prepared to give youngsters a chance.
That could affect them towards the business end of the season, while in the short term, Southampton will feel they can capitalise if the Reds are sluggish on Saturday.