Jurgen Klopp spoke of Liverpool’s fighting pride as the club booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Arsenal.
Liverpool were lucky in the first half. That’s because Arsenal missed numerous chances as the Gunners dominated the early exchanges at the Emirates.
Arsenal were punished for the defeat as Liverpool were within reach and the visitors progressed late into the next round.Jakub Kivior’s own goal put Liverpool ahead, then Poland defender Trent Alexander-Arnold scored with a header and Luis Diaz rounded off the scoring in the second half. Klopp was pleased with Liverpool’s progress despite the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Wataru Endo and Mohamed Salah.”I am very proud.
This is a very difficult draw. “It’s probably the most difficult thing we can have,” Klopp told the BBC that day. “With the things we had to consider when we came here, Arsenal set up a bit differently, which was smart. We made a few changes at half-time. I really came into the game in the second half. I scored and put the kids in. We fought for 95 minutes. We are on winter break now.”Ibrahima Konate was named man of the match, the Frenchman impressing at centre-back in Van Dijk’s absence.
On Konate’s screen, Klopp said: “The new partner did a good job too. Joe Gomez, come on. It was very hard. A lot of good things happened today. It is important to get these different results. “We are still in the game and can take a step forward in the second half.”
