Jurgen Klopp’s celebrations at the final whistle at Stamford Bridge offered a window into the importance of victory in his 150th Premier League match in charge.
Klopp’s impact on Liverpool in that period has been immensely making them European champions for the sixth time with victory over Tottenham in Madrid in June.
And yet, Klopp’s record in his domestic affairs is also formidable with his tally of 92 victories in that period. He is only bettered by Jose Mourinho who won 105 of his first Premier League games.
It did not quite bring the title last season when City pipped them despite Liverpool losing only one league game. However, they renewed their belief through supporters who celebrated with Klopp after the 2-1 win over Chelsea. This gave the Red’s maximum points from six games.
This is a record-breaking Liverpool. The club is building the platform for what they and Klopp hope will be the return of the league title after a 30-year wait.
Liverpool dug deep to win on Sunday. It became the first team to take maximum points from their first six games in successive seasons.
The club has now on their past 15 league matches with their rivals, City putting together a longer run in top-flight history when they won 18 between August and December 2017.
As Klopp rightly said, “You will never win at Chelsea without putting a proper shift in and we did that today.”
“It is exceptional. What can I say? We have to keep going. It never looks as easy as it did for Manchester City against Watford but we have not had these games yet. We have had to work for It.”
Klopp in celebrations
Klopp is usually animated but the body language n=in his technical area at Stamford Bridge was particularly telling, both during and after a game in which Liverpool was placed under greater stress than they have been for some time.
He was non-stop from the first whistle and particularly when Chelsea threatened to wipe out their two-goal lead.
Klopp first pumped his chest in the direction of the players exhorting greater effort.
The German’s shouts carried rows back into the stands. He danced up and down on the spot when possession was squandered. He engaged fourth official Kevin Friend and his counterpart, Frank Lampard in a lengthy discussion on more than one occasion.
When the final whistle blew, Klopp’s ecstasy was clear as he went around each member of his staff and players before tapping his heart in front of Liverpool’s joyous support congregated in a corner of the Shed End.
It was a match worth the celebrations.