Klopp delivers encouraging update on Coutinho injury

Liverpool: Karius, Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Milner, Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum (Woodburn 90), Coutinho (Origi 34), Firmino, Mane.

“We feel a bit frustrated as we did a good job in stopping Liverpool”.

Chelsea will move back to the top of the table should they beat Tottenham in Saturday’s late kick-off but Liverpool have clear momentum and last tasted defeat in the Premier League in August.

“He’s playing in this holding role where he’s got to be much more disciplined”.

Coutinho’s injury should prompt Klopp to follow through with his plans and sign another winger in the winter transfer window. They won without him but it was far from convincing.

Sunderland were then caught on the counter-attack by Mane, who was hacked down by Didier Ndong, and Milner did the rest from the spot, a goal that finally allowed Liverpool to breathe easily.

Black Cats manager David Moyes said afterwards his foremost objective was to stop Liverpool, though his side did have chances, notably when Duncan Watmore was denied with the game goalless.

Liverpool had 78 percent of the possession and 27 shots, compared to a paltry six from Sunderland, and that statistic tells the story of how they dominated this encounter. Kept it simple and didn’t try anything beyond his abilities.

The Reds eased to a relatively comfortable victory at Anfield thanks to second half goals from Divock Origi and James Milner, however, the game looks to have come at a cost for the Merseysiders.

‘He had a great tackle, a great pass, he was a master at set-pieces, whether it was a corner, penalty or free-kick and he scored so many goals as a midfielder. With Coutinho sidelined, there just wasn’t enough from the captain to help make the breakthrough.

A mixed afternoon, to say the least.

“Sunderland always play a defensive style and that is okay”.

MF Adnan Januzaj, N/R – Was easily outpaced by former Sunderland man Jordan Henderson after his one clever touch gave him a chance to break free for a menacing counterattack.

The Brazilian global looked to be in real pain and footage of the incident [which can be viewed here] appears to show the ankle snapping back, suggesting it could be a serious injury.

“We had two great results recently but, in truth, the last place you want to come after that is Anfield so it was always going to be hard”, he added. Persistence paid off and looked to have given his all when he was substituted very late on.

Klopp insisted that the impact of that “means then that you can not come through all the time”, adding: “We all need to learn to handle situations like this”. He seemed to spend more time on the wing than up front. Yesterday came perhaps the most miserable moment. James Milner converted a clear penalty easily. We have a football situation and work on it but I believe in atmosphere – it is a big, big part of the game.