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Klopp hails Coutinho’s “perfect goal”, outlines what Liverpool needs to fix

Manchester United v Liverpool - UEFA Europa League Round of 16: Second Leg

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool celebrates a 3-1 aggregate victory after the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on March 17, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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Jurgen Klopp hasn’t even been on the job for a year, and is within three wins of a piece of European hardware.

No, it’s not the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, but a Europa League title would give Liverpool automatic entry into the UEFA Champions League and a shot at that prestigious trophy.

[ MORE: Match recap | 3 things | Europa League roundup ]

Winning a Europa title without having reshaped the Reds’ squad to his liking would be quite an achievement for the German manager. Despite the relative ease with which Liverpool dispatched Manchester United, Klopp knows they’ll need to fix some things to make a run.

From LiverpoolFC.com:

“In the future we have to be a little bit more clear. You see all the counter-attacks in the second half, we had five players but played the last pass with no chance to get the ball and then we had to run back. I don’t know how many metres we collected tonight because of bad passes in the last moment.

“That’s not too smart – but the rest was really, really good. It was an intensive fight against a big opponent… Cool!”


Cool, indeed, although perhaps the coolest moment of the match came courtesy of Philippe Coutinho, who dazzled with a stunning goal.

Played a long ball down the left side, Coutinho dizzied Guillermo Varela before looping a medium paced shot over a charging but unprepared David De Gea.

Klopp was impressed.

“It was brilliant what he did. It was the most unexpected thing you could do in a situation like that – it was a perfect goal.”

Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund will be the favorites to go to the final should the two sides avoid each other, forcing a duel between Klopp and his former side.

Follow @NicholasMendola