Liverpool are very much on a high.
Their victory over Manchester City at the weekend has not only given them an impressive lead in the Premier League, but it’s also had a mental impact.
Pep Guardiola was certainly rattled both during and after the match at Anfield on Sunday, and Raheem Sterling confronting Joe Gomez at England’s camp, and subsequently being dropped, underlines the situation further.
Dirk Kuyt still has a lot of love for the Reds, therefore his De Telegraaf column this week could only be about the match and how the Dutchman feels Liverpool are progressing on and off the pitch.
The Feyenoord youth coach says he was at Anfield for the 2-1 victory over Genk a week ago, and was struck by how motivated the whole club was for the top of the table clash: “What I noticed that evening at Anfield was that everything was already dominated by Sunday’s game. You could see, notice and feel that Liverpool would do anything to give everything to City.
“To defeat Pep Guardiola’s team, Jürgen Klopp told everyone, everything had to be right at Liverpool. He demanded the maximum from the players, from his entire training staff, from supporters, from everyone at the club to the hotdog sellers. Klopp knows how to create such an atmosphere of solidarity. It worked out that way. If you saw how the stadium was in total ecstasy against City.”
This feeling is something that Kuyt hopes can be built around the Dutch national team, feeling they, like Liverpool, are in a period where there’s a lot of talent available.
He believes Ronald Koeman is doing a great job and, just like Klopp, is managing the group generally, rather than being overly obsessed with who the best players are.
