Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told Jamie Carragher and Sky Sports that the way his tactical change worked against Manchester City was ‘unbelievable’.
The Reds hosted City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, in a game which was already being billed as something of a title decider.
Liverpool had a six point lead over City heading into the game, and they made a dramatic start as Fabinho smashed home the opener before Mohamed Salah headed home the second.
City weren’t happy with either goal, having had a strong penalty shout turned down for the first one, and then appealed for offside for Salah’s second, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.
Liverpool then killed off the game in the second half as Sadio Mane headed home a superb Jordan Henderson cross, meaning Bernardo Silva’s strike was just a consolation.
Liverpool now have a nine-point lead over City in the race for the title, and with Chelsea and Leicester City unlikely to close the gap, Liverpool already appear to be edging towards the title.
The Reds managed to keep City at bay in the second half, and that’s because Klopp changed from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-1-1, shifting Henderson to the right side and dropping Mane back a little on the left, whilst using Roberto Firmino behind Salah.
Klopp was asked about that decision by ex-Reds defender Carragher, and the German felt that Liverpool could deal with City better by having a flat four in midfield, and felt it was ‘unbelievable’ to see Henderson and Mane link up, almost justifying the change in itself.
“We changed the system,” said Klopp. “First and foremost, we defended.They did a couple of things and we felt in a 4-4-1-1 we could them defend better. We had clear wings then. We had Sadio [Mane] left and [Jordan] Henderson right – that’s, by the way, how we scored the goal, that was unbelievable,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
