Published 20:46 IST, March 1st 2020
Klopp believes that Liverpool can now play freely since 'invincibles' pressure is off
Klopp's remarks came after the Reds lost 3-0 to Watford on Saturday, the team's first loss after 422 days. L'pool are 22 points clear at the top of PL table
Jurgen Klopp has said that he was not chasing any record in terms of being undefeated and that records are broken when players are 100% focused on breaking a particular record, hinting that his squad was not aiming to be crowned as 'Invincibles' at the end of the season. Klopp's remarks came after the Reds lost 3-0 to Watford on Saturday night.
'Now we can play freely'
It was Liverpool's first loss this season, meaning that it ended any hopes to remain 'invincibles' and also halted their run that would have eclipsed Arsenal's 49 match unbeaten record. When asked whether he was disappointed about not being able to break the records, he said, "Not really, because I don’t think you can break records because you want to break records. You break records because you are 100 per cent focused on each step you have to do, whatever record it is – a marathon or whatever – and for that, you have to perform. I am not bothered, but I am not sure how other people think about it, so now on we can play free football again, we don’t have to defend or try to get a record, we can just try to win football games again and that is what we will do."
Arsenal stayed unbeaten between May 2003 and October 2005, a run that went on for 49 matches. It began with a 6-1 win over Southampton in May 2003 and it continued throughout the 2003-04 season as the Gunners won the league title as Invincibles. The run ended at Old Trafford after Manchester United won the match in a controversial manner. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a penalty after Wayne Rooney dived and the Englishman then doubled the lead.
Liverpool are the first team in the last 15 seasons to come so close to matching Arsenal's record. However, they fell short on Saturday night.
It was the first loss for the Reds in 422 days. Two goals from Ismaila Sarr and one from Troy Deeney ensured that Liverpool's unbeaten run was halted at 44 matches, five short of Arsenal's unbeaten run of 49 matches, which is the longest unbeaten in the top-flight English football.
Updated 20:46 IST, March 1st 2020