Mauricio Pochettino has said that Liverpool are clear favourites in the Carabao Cup final.
The Chelsea boss responded to Jurgen Klopp’s claims suggesting that it will be an even chance for both sides.
Klopp said: “Will we be big favourites? Definitely not. Since we played them (Chelsea) they have improved a lot and it will be tricky.”
Pochettino did not agree with Klopp’s assessment and responded: “If you ask me, the favourite is Liverpool.
“It’s very clear. They have the experience to compete in these kind of games.
“Klopp is clever enough to say it’s a 50-50 game, but I think Liverpool are favourites.”
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What Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool at half-time as Harvey Elliott response explained
Jurgen Klopp praised the maturity of Harvey Elliott’s second-half performance as Liverpool came from behind to beat Luton Town 4-1 at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp believes Harvey Elliott could end his Liverpool career as one of the club’s leading appearance-makers after the 20-year-old marked a landmark Anfield outing with a goal in Wednesday’s 4-1 thrashing of Luton Town.
Elliott was handed just his fourth start of the Premier League season as he added to goals from Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz to cancel out Chiedozie Ogbene’s 12th-minute opener and send Liverpool four points clear at the top of the Premier League.
For 20-year-old Elliott, Wednesday night was his 100th appearance for Klopp’s side since making the move to Anfield from Fulham in 2019.
In achieving that feat at a younger age than both Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Klopp celebrated Elliott’s landmark occasion by insisting the England under-21 international could play another 500 games for the Reds if he continues his current trajectory.
“Top performance and Harvey is a top player. That’s why he has 100 games for Liverpool in not the worst period of the club’s history, let me say it like this,” said Klopp in his post-match press conference. “That is a proper sign. Tonight, he had not a great first half. There was a pass with Lucho [Luis Diaz] [and] when I saw he wanted to play the pass instead of going into a one-on-one situation… it was here, finish a bit late, block. But the reaction in the second half is the main difference, that’s the thing. That made this performance ‘The Performance’ and I’m so happy for him.
“I don’t lose patience in these moments, I know that it’s a challenge for young boys. When everything is great they are super talents but when things don’t go well, then you have to show up and that’s what he’s learning more and more. And with 100 games under his belt, you all know he will definitely play another 100, 200, 300…if you ask him, another 500 for this club.”
Elliott’s strike, his first in the Premier League since his late winner against Crystal Palace in December, applied the gloss on a much-improved second-half performance from Liverpool and vindicated Klopp’s decision to stick rather than twist with his side trailing the Hatters 1-0 at half-time.
“Tactically, no, it wasn’t necessary,” said Klopp, asked if he made any subtle changes at the break. “I asked the boys to delete it, the few things that brought us in a rush. Delete it. That’s how it is. We knew if we win the second half 1-0, we get a point. If we win 2-0, we win the game. So there’s a massive chance.
“Tactically, no, it wasn’t necessary,” said Klopp, asked if he made any subtle changes at the break. “I asked the boys to delete it, the few things that brought us in a rush. Delete it. That’s how it is. We knew if we win the second half 1-0, we get a point. If we win 2-0, we win the game. So there’s a massive chance.
“We saw it already this season that we can turn things around in the first half maybe when the game looks slightly different. I asked the boys ‘Did you like the [first half of the] game?’ Because your faces don’t look like [you did]. If you would’ve asked the crowd they would’ve said ‘Nah, I don’t like it.’ [It’s] just only coaches liked it because it was a good basis for the things we needed in the second half.
“So no we didn’t change it. We asked the boys to be calmer in these moments so that we could finish off the situation up to our standards, our tactical standards and that’s what I saw. Then the boys were, all of a sudden, really awake. Cody’s goal, exceptional. Quick thinking, boom, a grenade into the box and he puts his head there. Just wonderful. All of the goals were fantastic, I liked them all. Really good game, really special, special game.”