Liverpool's 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on this day seven years ago is rarely remembered for the scoreline itself, but rather for what followed this Premier League head-to-head at Anfield.
After watching the Reds equalise in the 95th minute courtesy of Divock Origi's deflected strike, there was a feeling of sheer relief for Jurgen Klopp as his side responded to the unwavering support of those inside Anfield to dig deep late on in this contest.
A point at this stage of the game, unsurprisingly, felt almost like a victory and left Klopp keen to say thank you to supporters who had played their part in Liverpool earning a share of the spoils.
READ MORE: Liverpool handed Harvey Elliott injury boost but midfield pair miss training
READ MORE: Liverpool have already shown Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez double deal is not impossible
As players made their way over to greet the Kop at the full-time whistle, Klopp rounded up the eleven players who ended the game on the pitch before asking everyone to link arms and raise them in unison in a show of appreciation for the fans. What was simply a thoughtful gesture, which is frequently seen in Klopp's homeland, was taken the wrong way by those looking from the outside in.
Accused of being over-dramatic in celebrating a point at home to a side many would expect the Reds to beat, Klopp's message was lost on many but he stood his ground when asked for further context on his reasoning to orchestrate such scenes.
“I’m not here to bring German traditions to England or anything like that. It was the moment for me, that’s all. It was not for us about ‘How can we say thank you to the fans? Send letters?’ You can only react in the moment, directly after the game," he explained in his post-match press conference.
“I didn’t get the feeling that the Liverpool fans in the stadium had a problem with what we did. It is not important for everyone to understand what we are doing. It is for us. It is for Liverpool fans, it is for the relationship of the team. It was only a thank you. Nothing else.
“If someone tells me it’s a problem I won’t do it. If it is an opinion I am interested in, I won’t do it. But I don’t know enough possibilities of another way to say thank you. That’s all.”
Just one month earlier, Liverpool had suffered a loss on home soil to Crystal Palace after Scott Dann headed home eight minutes from time. This marked Klopp's maiden Anfield defeat, during which he felt 'pretty alone' after watching a walkout of fans in response to this setback. It therefore should have come as no surprise that the 55-year-old deemed it appropriate to remind supporters of their collective power during the West Brom draw.
Reflecting on his intentions of this December day when speaking to JOE in 2018, the former Dortmund boss doubled down on his decision to galvanise the fanbase - regardless of the negative reception it received.
“I really wanted from the first day that the people know about their importance,” he stressed. "In football, people always say it - that supporters are important - but then you don’t treat them like that so you have to make sure it’s really a healthy relationship. We know without them we wouldn’t play on our highest level, no chance. You have to appreciate that and it’s very easy for me, but it's still very different routines in England and in Germany.
“There was a big misunderstanding against West Brom. I wanted to say thank you to the supporters after that game so I took my team towards the Kop to do it and there was a discussion everywhere about it. For me, it was 'why should we even discuss that?' But I had to learn that English people are not used to that kind of thing."
READ NEXT:
