Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to Leicester and Jamie Vardy after Liverpool defeat

By Patrick Surlis

Wednesday 3 February 2016 15:47, UK

Jurgen Klopp admitted he nearly clapped Jamie Vardy after the Leicester striker scored twice against Liverpool to keep the Foxes top of the Premier League.

Vardy's double earned Claudio Ranieri's side a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, taking his goal tally in the league to 18.

The defeat leaves Liverpool 11 points behind fourth-place Arsenal, while Leicester remain three points clear at the top, and Klopp paid tribute to the Foxes and their in-form striker after the match.

"Things like this happen when you are in such a good moment like Jamie Vardy and Leicester are," Klopp said. "Obviously you need a little bit of luck but it was really good. First of all you need to be brave enough to do it.

"It's the perfect season for Leicester and the perfect season for Jamie Vardy. They deserve every point they get and Jamie has deserved every goal he's scored until now. I was close to clapping my hands to be honest but I just felt too bad at that moment."

Vardy's first goal, a stunning goal-of-the-season contender, edged Leicester ahead on the hour mark and he added his second 11 minutes later to put the game beyond Liverpool.

Emre Can threatened for the Reds while Alberto Moreno's low cross nearly caught out Kasper Schmeichel, but Klopp conceded Vardy's volleyed opener ultimately proved the difference.

"At the end, the game is decided by a world-class goal from Jamie Vardy," Klopp added. "One second before we were in their box and we didn't shoot. That maybe shows you the difference.

"I think we had a good plan and a good style of play. The way we forced ourselves to play football was important. Even when they pressed in the first half we played and then they had to run.

"We had a lot of opportunities to cross but our crosses were not exact. We then had some situations when we could have passed but we shot and others where we could have shot but we passed. It was not 10 clear-cut chances and so I don't feel too good at this moment."

Liverpool have won just once in the league since December 30, and face a busy fixture list in February with the resumption of the Europa League, an FA Cup fourth-round replay and the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City at the end of the month.

They have failed to score in three consecutive games since hitting five past Norwich, and Klopp admitted he was looking for more from his team.

"It wasn't too bad from our side but it wasn't good enough to win," he added. "I'm not too happy to be honest because we weren't here to show we can play something like football. We were only here for the result and I saw our good moments, but they were not often enough."