Liverpool recovered from throwing away a three-goal lead against Salzburg to win 4-3 at Anfield
Thursday 3 October 2019 09:34, UK
Jurgen Klopp admits his Liverpool side were taught an "important lesson" after RB Salzburg were beaten 4-3 at Anfield.
The Reds recovered from throwing away a three-goal lead against Salzburg as Mohamed Salah's 69th-minute strike earned the Champions League titleholders a chaotic victory on Wednesday.
Trailing 3-0 after 36 minutes following strikes by Sadio Mane, Andrew Robertson and Salah, Salzburg stunned the Premier League leaders by scoring three unanswered goals in 21 wild minutes either side of half-time.
Salah regained the lead for the hosts by running onto Roberto Firmino's flicked header and cushioning a left-foot shot into the net, and Klopp's men held firm to collect their first points in Group E after opening up with a 2-0 loss at Napoli.
Klopp said: "The first 30 minutes was some of the best football we played so far, I would say, against a very good organised team with a clear identity. We did everything that they don't like on high speed, scored the three goals, could have scored more.
"They changed the system - that's allowed and not really a problem usually but tonight it was for us. We changed, for some reason, the approach. Some were in a controlling mood, some were in an attacking mood, and other positions were too hectic.
"The other problem was that we tried to finish our situations off through the middle of the park. They had one midfielder less in the defence because they took a little bit more risk, left a No.10 between the lines, and we still tried to push through the centre.
"[We] lost the balls there, they passed the ball to the 10 and he could turn at the back of Fabinho: counter-attack. That changed the momentum of the game."
Despite the scare, Liverpool have now won their last 12 home matches in all competitions, their best home winning run since an 18-game streak between April and November 1985.
The Reds are now unbeaten in 20 home European games under Klopp, and having stumbled in Naples a fortnight ago, the German will be confident of his side wrestling top spot off the Serie A club following back-to-back games against Genk when the competition resumes later this month.
Salzburg became only the fourth team to score three goals away at Anfield in the Champions League, joining Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid, and the only one of those four to fail to win the game.
Klopp was full of praise for his Austrian counterparts, adding: "Other teams maybe break down at 3-0 here but they were not really bothered. We opened the door, they were running through the door.
"It was a very important lesson for us tonight but I prefer massively to learn it in the game than after the game because, if we lost 4-3, it would have been the same lesson.
"Now we won 4-3 so three points and a lot to learn from so, I'm fine. I knew before that we have to improve a lot but now everybody knows it probably."
Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch was delighted with the character his side showed despite falling short in a pulsating match on Merseyside.
He said: "Even though we were down 3-0, you could see us coming into the game more," said Marsch.
"The goal just before half-time was really big for us, because it gave us the chance to go in and talk about a few things and then come out and push as hard as we could.
"At 3-3, you know our guys have put a lot into it, and they're a little bit tired, the energy in the stadium picked up a little bit, and it's an incredible team we're playing, so I'm really proud of my group and it's important that we learn from this loss so we find a way to get through the group."
