Jürgen Klopp has revealed the five-word instruction shouted by Georginio Wijnaldum before Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Crystal Palace tomorrow, the German said: ‘Gini, before the Tottenham game in the dressing room, shouted to the dressing room: “Don’t waste the first-half!”’
It seems as if the Netherlands international was keen to avoid a repeat of what happened against Fulham before the Spurs game.
Liverpool allowed the Cottagers to take a first-half lead at Craven Cottage on Sunday, in a 45-minute period where the Reds looked completely and utterly flat.
With all due respect, Tottenham are significantly better than Fulham, so Wijnaldum was right to shout what he did at his teammates.
It seemed to do the trick, as Klopp’s men excelled in the first half against Jose Mourinho’s side.
Whether this was down to the £25 million Dutchman or not is unknown, although there was definitely a major improvement from the first-half in west London.
After Wijnaldum’s rallying cry, Liverpool took a first-half lead against the north Londoners, and could have had more goals were it not for some saves from Hugo Lloris.
Having leaders in the dressing room who can spot what’s gone wrong and bellow instructions is vital to any title-winning side, and it looks like Liverpool have one in the ex-Newcastle man.
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