Watch Everton vs Liverpool on Sky Sports Premier League at 4.15pm on Super Sunday
Saturday 2 March 2019 13:57, UK
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool need to be more potent from set-pieces and has called for other players to score goals to supplement the work of his prolific front three.
Mohamed Salah (17), Sadio Mane (14) and Roberto Firmino (nine) have scored 40 of the club's 64 Premier League goals this season, while Xherdan Shaqiri (six) is the only other player to have scored more than three.
Virgil van Dijk, who accepted he needs to score more, trebled his tally for the season with two goals in the 5-0 midweek drubbing of Watford and Klopp admits any contributions from defenders - and midfielders - will help as they try to hold off Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
"Of course you need goals from set-pieces, that's very important," Klopp said ahead of Liverpool's Merseyside derby clash at Everton, who have conceded a third of their league goals from set-pieces this season.
"You need to be ready in all departments. Set-pieces helped us especially in the beginning of the season quite a lot, then it disappeared a bit.
"But now hopefully we can get it back. I love scoring from set-pieces, you have a lot of them in the game and you need to use them."
Van Dijk benefited from two crosses from either flank by full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson against Watford.
The impressive Alexander-Arnold completed a hat-trick of assists in the match and with teams playing defensively against his side, Klopp knows his defenders can provide an extra dimension.
"It's important," Klopp added. "That's modern football. If you ask a young boy 'What's your favourite position?' I don't think a lot of boys will say 'I want to be a full-back!'
"But football has changed. They became much more important.
"In that [Watford] game it was exceptional. I don't think I was ever part of a game where somebody had a hat-trick of assists. It was special.
"He [Alexander-Arnold] wanted the match ball, so he got it. Now let's try to do something like that again."
Mane, playing in a central role with Firmino injured and still a doubt for Sunday, also scored twice in that game.
His 14-goal tally is his best in the league since arriving at Southampton from Red Bull Salzburg in 2014.
"Sadio is coming to an age where things are becoming more natural for him. He's not having to convince people now," said Klopp, who is looking to extend his unbeaten derby record to eight matches.
"We all know that he's a world-class player, and he has started realising that for himself.
"Mix it up with his attitude and his work-rate, it can be a really decent career - even better than it was to now.
"He's in a good moment of his career, and he's in the best age group now, which they all are."
Liverpool are unbeaten in a record 16 derbies, have lost just one of the last 24 in the league, and if they avoid defeat on Sunday they will set a club record of eight games unbeaten in succession at Goodison Park.
