Thursday 15 September 2016 18:54, UK
Adam Lallana is a "brilliant" player who is getting better with every game, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says.
Lallana is expected to feature in the Friday Night Football clash against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, and will be looking to extend a purple patch in front of goal, which has seen him net three goals in his last six matches for club and country.
Klopp rates the versatile 28-year-old - who lives next door to him in Formby - highly and appears to be getting the best out of him in a more central role in Liverpool's team.
"Adam was, from the first second, important," said Klopp on his thoughts about the midfielder when he first took over almost a year ago.
"I knew him from Southampton and I thought he was a really good player. To be honest I didn't see too much from when he played for Liverpool but I knew from Southampton he was a brilliant player.
"Since we worked together it's always getting better. He can play different positions, he's quick, he's mentally strong, he's a smart player.
"He is very important for the team - as a person and as a player.
"Everybody who has the possibility to speak to him knows he's a very smart guy and he's really settled in Liverpool.
"He's a nice guy, even as a neighbour. I have a few other neighbours who are nice but they are not that good as footballers!"
Lallana was on the scoresheet as Liverpool hammered champions Leicester 4-1 last weekend but Klopp insists his team will need to be better to beat Antonio Conte's Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
"There's a lot of space for improvement and we need to improve for the Chelsea game of course because they are so experienced," he said.
"If they want, on specific days they can play a really ugly game where nothing really works, but they always stay cool and in the right moment, [score a] goal, and nobody cares.
"Because we are much younger we need something like good moments in a game to take the next good moment and the next good moment.
"Experience, when you use it right, makes you stronger and that's their only real advantage. They are more experienced but we are the challenger and we want to go there and create real problems for them. That's how it is.
"We want to be strong in our kind [of play] and get a result."
