Jurgen Klopp is wary of Diego Costa’s ‘world class’ abilities as a player ahead of Liverpool’s much awaited clash against Chelsea this Friday.
The Reds manager was speaking ahead of the game where he discussed Costa’s abilities on the ball and how his team needs to bother about his goal-scoring skills rather than the antics he likes to pull off every now and then.
Klopp said: “He is world class and that is the best thing football fans can say about you. If other supporters love you it is not a good sign.
“He is a real warrior on the pitch, he uses his body all the time and that is a quality. He was nearly unstoppable against Swansea.”
Klopp shared some light in to the work Antonio Conte is doing at Chelsea. Former Dortmund manager labeled Conte as good as Pep Guardiola for the unique playing style he developed at Juventus and Italy which seems to be evident at Chelsea as well.
Chelsea are playing a totally different brand of football under Conte than what they were doing under Jose Mourinho, which is a credit to Conte’s hard work and shrewd footballing knowledge.
Add to that Klopp admired Conte’s emotional involvement form the touchlines. Klopp himself is no stranger to cheering his team from the sidelines but he thinks Conte is one step ahead of him in that regards.
Klopp said: “He looks quite emotional, even when they don’t score. Obviously he is involved in the game, but that’s not the most important thing.
“The very important thing is he is a great manager, something like the ‘Pep Guardiola of Juventus’ if you want.
“He created their special type of play and had a very successful time there and with the national team.”
Despite these praiseworthy notes Klopp would hope to come up with counter measures to stop Diego Costa and Antonio Conte as The Reds prepare to take on an in-form Chelsea side.
The Blues have won 3 of their 4 matches so far and have looked one of the better teams in the league. On the contrary, Liverpool have also played some attractive football during that time which guarantees a high-octane match at Stamford Bridge this Friday.