Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will never suffer from an identity crisis.
Klopp will not change the high-intensity, on-the-front-foot style which has proved so successful – regardless of their opponents.
Many of their main rivals have tinkered with tactics and formations in a bid to find the winning formula.
Arsenal, who visit Anfield on Monday night, have become a more counter-attacking team under Mikel Arteta, as have Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Chelsea adopted a cautious approach in their defeat against Liverpool last weekend and even Pep Guardiola came in for criticism for changing his normal formation to field a back three with two holding midfielders in Manchester City’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to Lyon last month.
But Klopp has found a winning formula that suits his players and his mindset is not to alter it for anyone.
“I’m not sure if it is non-negotiable but we have an identity and we stick to that, that’s true,” he said.
“There is absolutely no reason not to be intense and we actually think we have no chance to be successful if we are not intense.
“We cannot just play like another team and save some energy in this or that moment. We have to do what we have to do on a high intensity basis and I am pretty sure the boys would say the same to be 100 per cent honest.
“But we do different things in a game as well. That other teams adapt to us is normal. We do that as well to other teams. Just in a different way.
“I know Chelsea defended against us differently than they do against other teams. In possession they do what they want to do. In defending they adapt to us. You could see how they tried to react to our full-backs. That is clear.
“It is just how Frank [Lampard] adapted to us. We adapt too, just not so much system wise. We do a lot of stuff in different positions to make sure the other team cannot do exactly what it wants. We think we have a wide range in the way we play. I am not sure if that is obvious, but intensity is a big part of it.”
Klopp has given Liverpool a clear identity and whatever team he puts out, in whatever competition, will always play in the high-tempo style.
He was delighted with the way his ‘second string’ performed at Lincoln in the EFL Cup on Thursday just as he was the way his youngsters played against Aston Villa, Everton and Shrewsbury in the two domestic cup competitions last season.
“We try to do our absolute best in each game and that is something I have loved in both Premier League games so far and especially at Lincoln in the EFL Cup,” he said. “Because if the team in that game had been wearing a different shirt I still would have known it was us. I like that a lot because we want everyone to see that identity.”
Klopp admits his style is not “rocket science” so it won’t take long for new signings like Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jotta to adapt.
“Because I am a pretty simple person our football is pretty simple,” he added. “It is not rocket science and it is not that complicated what we do. It just needs a little time to get used to it in moments: counter press stuff like this. The first thing [for a new signing] is be yourself and then we start working on a few things and hopefully you can be better than before.”
Liverpool team news
With skipper Jordan Henderson ruled out, Thiago is set for his first start while Jota will be on the bench as Liverpool bid to wreck Arsenal’s unbeaten start and join Merseyside neighbours Everton at the top of the table with maximum points from three games.
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