LONDON — Manager Juergen Klopp said he was encouraged by Liverpool’s performance in a 1-1 English Premier League draw at Chelsea, despite his side having had the advantage in the game.
Liverpool started well, going ahead in the season-opener after Luis Diaz turned in a defence-splitting pass by Mohamed Salah at the far post.
However, they failed to finish off their opponents and Chelsea equalised through defender Axel Disasi, with the teams sharing the points.
“I’m okay with the point… We had a really good start to the game, I liked that a lot,” Klopp told reporters.
“Everything was there, what we’ve been working on. But then we opened the door for Chelsea, we lost the ball in one or two situations which was unnecessary. Chelsea got better in the game … and we had to dig really deep and fight hard.
“I saw a lot of things I liked and some things I didn’t like particularly. It’s a first game at a tough place, and I tend to see it as a positive.”
With Liverpool searching for a winner in the second half, attacker Salah was taken off in the 77th minute, marking the first time in seven seasons that he has failed to score in the first round of Premier League fixtures.
The Egyptian, who is tied with Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard for most goals scored on opening day, appeared unhappy with the substitution, peeling the tape around his wrists and throwing it to the ground, but Klopp played down the significance of his reaction.
“I didn’t have a conversation yet with him,” Klopp said according to Reuters. “I did not know that if he could have scored in that game it would have been an all-time record or whatever.
“I understand his disappointment, but I’m the manager of the whole team. In that moment we needed fresh legs, (the substitution) made sense for us.
“It was super intense for everybody. That’s all I can say about it, his reaction was absolutely okay.”
Sunday’s clash had an added element of drama to it, given that the two teams are locked in a transfer battle over Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea currently appear to be favourites to sign the Brighton & Hove Albion player, despite British media on Friday saying that Liverpool had agreed a deal for the Ecuadorean midfielder.
Both clubs have also been linked with a move for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, with Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino saying the west London club need to make signings to bolster their midfield.
Klopp declined to comment on Caicedo and Lavia, but when asked about Pochettino’s comments, he said: “That’s what each Chelsea manager wants, and usually they get it.”
In the marquee matchup of the Premier League´s opening round, Luis Diaz put Liverpool ahead after a lightning counterattack in the 18th minute and defender Axel Disasi marked his Chelsea debut by scoring the equalizer from close range in the 37th.
“It was difficult from the beginning but how we grew in the game and how we found the way to play and how we started to dominate and push Liverpool deeper and deeper, I am very pleased about everything,” Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said after his return to management, having sat out a year after being fired by Paris Saint-Germain.
Both teams also had goals disallowed by VAR checks in an open and chance-filled first half that highlighted just why the two rivals are trying to spend more than 110 million pounds ($140 million) on bringing in defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Caicedo has reportedly chosen to join Chelsea over Liverpool, which could prove a more important result than the draw as it was evident that both sides badly need a ball-winning midfielder of the Ecuadorian´s caliber.
Chelsea already looked a different team under Pochettino, though, playing with a level of intensity rarely seen at Stamford Bridge last season, when the club went through three managers.
Tottenham draws with Brentford
Tottenham began life without Harry Kane with an entertaining 2-2 draw at Brentford in the Premier League, with new manager Ange Postecoglou praising the team’s resilience after a trying week.
All four goals came in an action-filled first half that gave a first indication of what Tottenham will look like under Postecoglou, and without its talismanic striker.
A day after Kane sealed his move to Bayern Munich, Spurs dominated possession and scored from its only two efforts on target in the first half, and yet still had to come from 2-1 down after being undone defensively on a couple of occasions.
While both teams settled into a more cautious rhythm after the break, the opening 45 minutes of Postecoglou´s reign were enough to show that his underlying tactics will be a far cry from his predecessor Antonio Conte´s defensive rigidity and focus on counterattacks.
And while Spurs couldn’t find a winner, a draw at Brentford could be seen as a positive first step given that Thomas Frank’s team beat Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool at home last season.
“Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou said about coping without Kane.
“I haven´t needed to address it, I haven´t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for and they knew that. I think that was the important thing for us. … We showed a real resilience that we´re going to need because it´s going to be a challenging year for sure.”
The game’s kickoff was delayed by six minutes after an issue with the water supply meant the toilets inside the stadium couldn’t be used. It came a day after Arsenal’s home game against Nottingham Forest was delayed by 30 minutes because of an issue with the club’s new digital ticketing system.
“It is the most crazy reason for delaying a Premier League game I ever heard,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said. “I know we normally hit the headlines for a lot of good things. Probably is not the worst thing to hit the headlines with, but yeah, quite crazy. … Probably also the first time in the Premier League wasn´t it? Again, making history.”
The visitors took the lead when James Maddison delivered a pinpoint free kick that was headed in by Cristian Romero in the 11th minute. The defender then had to be taken off, though, after showing signs of a possible concussion following an earlier clash of heads.
Brentford equalized after the hosts were awarded a penalty when Son Heung-min made light contact with Mathias Jensen in the area, and Bryan Mbeumo converted from the spot.
Tottenham were exposed defensively again on a counter in the 36th, when Rico Henry delivered a cross to Yoane Wissa, whose shot took a deflection to sneak past Tottenham´s new goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Emerson Royal then leveled for Tottenham in first-half injury time with a one-time shot from outside the area after another assist from Maddison.
Tottenham forward Richarlison, who has the job of filling the shoes of Kane, was largely kept quiet but had a shot saved by Mark Flekken in the second half.
