More Running, No WAGS: 5 Changes Made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

The Quint takes a look at the five changes made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool in his first year as manager.

The 2016-17 Premier League season has seen a rejuvenated Liverpool side. They have won five out of their eight games and are currently placed fourth in the table.

From a team of self doubters last season, they have rose to become a potent force this season. And the prime reason behind the success has been none other than their manager Jurgen Klopp, who completed a year at the coveted club on Monday.

Klopp took over a side which was unbalanced and lacked confidence last year. The Reds had won only four games out of their eleven matches at that time.

Since then, Liverpool have won 30 times, drawn 17 times and lost 14 times, which included two finals.

The Quint takes a look at the five big changes made by Klopp which has helped the club become a better team.

1. More Running

One of the most notable changes has been the amount of running done by the Liverpool players during a match since Klopp’s appointment. The German manager has emphasised on running more since he joined the club and the players have responded with great results.

This team set the record of running the most distance by any Liverpool side in the history of Premier League during the match against Arsenal this season. The Reds ran 117.6 km.

2. No WAGS and Increased Training

As soon as Klopp officially took over as Liverpool’s manager he banned all the wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of the players from Liverpool’s training ground.

The manager wanted to create an environment where the players are totally committed to their work and told his players that Melwood (Liverpool’s training ground) is the headquarters of football.

Klopp also reduced the amount of off days the players used to have under Liverpool’s previous manager Brendan Rodgers.

We need to train for as often and for as long as it is possible.

Jurgen Klopp

3. More Goals Under Klopp

Liverpool has scored 97 goals in 56 competitive matches under Klopp at an average of 1.73 goals per match. Whereas, in the last 56 games managed by Rogers, the Reds netted 68 goals.

The German manager has mostly got the team to score through a controlled build up play. Under Klopp, Liverpool always have a set plan and they haven’t relied much on counter attacks and long passes to score goals.

The Reds implement the plan either in their own half or in the midfield and take the ball the forward before finding the back of the net.

Liverpool have scored 57 percent of their goals with a controlled build-up play.

4. Taking on the Big Guns

Under Klopp, Liverpool have improved their record against big teams tremendously. The Reds used to find it difficult to take points against big teams prior to Klopp’s reign.

But now, Liverpool have beaten Chelsea, Manchester City (twice) and Arsenal.

The fact that Liverpool is beating big teams shows that they are truly in contention for the Premier League title or a Champions League spot at least.

5. ‘We Must Turn From Doubters to Believers’

On Jurgen Klopp’s first day as Liverpool manager, he said that the club must change from doubters to believers. One year later, he has certainly managed to do that.

Prior to Klopp’s reign, Liverpool weren’t confident about playing big teams but now they feel they can win against any team.

One thing he (Jurgen Klopp) has brought in is he will make us believe we can win whether we play Barcelona or whoever. You go out on the pitch thinking: ‘We can win this by doing this.’ You genuinely do believe him that every team is beatable.

Adam Lallana, Midfielder, Liverpool