Jurgen Klopp couldn't have had a better response for Patrice Evra after his Liverpool side ran out 3-1 winners away to Aston Villa on their return to Premier League action.
Manchester United legend Evra had been impressed by how the Reds played during a series of friendlies during the World Cup break, pointing out to Betfair that "their hunger is back" after a difficult first half of the season which made them "angry." Although Klopp's men were mostly smiling as they beat Villa on Boxing Day, Evra was still proven right after predicting them to win.
Reds stars Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk each grabbed a goal in the opening 45 minutes before Ollie Watkins pulled one back early in the second period. After fending off a wave of Villa attacks with some resolute defending, academy prodigy Stefan Bajcetic was introduced from the bench to seal all three points with an elegant finish.
Klopp has now guided his team to three successive Premier League wins and he was delighted with what he saw at Villa Park. "It was a top performance in a difficult game. I think we played exceptionally in the first half," the Liverpool manager told Amazon Prime. "Villa had their moments but we were really good. I liked what I saw.
"We told the boys at half-time where we could do better and the only problem was in the second half we missed the last step all of a sudden. Villa were pushing hard, in a home game that's normal, we knew that would happen, and you have to get through those periods. We could have scored the third goal much earlier but it's fine, and I loved the situation around the third goal."
Klopp went on to praise two of his goalscorers in the hard-fought win. The first of whom, Salah, equalled Sir Kenny Dalglish 's goal tally of 172 in a Liverpool shirt with his early strike. "If your name can be mentioned in the same sentence as Sir Kenny Dalglish's, you are doing something right," the Reds boss added.
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And then it was Bajcetic's turn to receive some praise, having scored his first senior goal on only his second Premier League appearance. "I think he showed what he can do," Klopp declared of the 19-year-old Spanish youth international. "He is cheeky like hell, not worried about anything, just plays football and does it exceptionally well.
"He has a football player father so the genes are there. The attitude and awareness are really big and he is a big pleasure to work with."
Next up for Liverpool is a clash with Leicester City on Friday night under the Anfield lights.
